Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness is a sequel to the Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 films. This comic action/adventure/horror film stars the wonderfully entertaining Bruce Campbell as Ash, the classic prototype protagonist. Directed by Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man), Army of Darkness is a simple and highly entertaining cult classic. The film is the epitome of cult horror, featuring tag lines and catchphrases throughout that bring out the lively energy behind the film and its lead character. While Army of Darkness didn’t do particularly well at the box office, it is certainly a success in the home video and DVD market.
The film follows Ash (Bruce Campbell), fresh from his adventures of the Evil Dead films, as he gets sucked into a time vortex along with his Oldsmobile. He ends up in medieval times, around 1300 AD, and right smack dab in the middle of a conflict between two armies. Ash is thought of as the “Hero from the Sky” by the people, thought to be the one to save mankind from the “Deadites” or the undead armies that threaten the kingdom. This is explained somewhat in Evil Dead 2.
Instead, however, Ash is thought to be a member of one of the enemy armies and is brought to the village to be punished and executed. He escapes his execution and takes charge of the situation quickly with his “boomstick” and the action begins. Ash is enlisted to grab the Book of the Dead and fight off the skeleton army that he accidentally unleashes when he doesn’t get the sacred words right.
The character of Ash is the best thing about Army of Darkness, by far. Ash’s one-liners and catchphrases are tremendously entertaining, as is Bruce Campbell’s performance as the two-fisted hero. Army of Darkness excels in that it keeps things simple and fun, using lots of original set-ups for Campbell to deliver his character and using lots of broad action sequences to bring out some good fun. The film really is a good old-fashioned action/adventure romp led by good characters and good action, including a shotgun and a chainsaw. How much more can you ask for?
Raimi really makes the film work with its flow, however, as he never lets the audience up for air and never lets anyone relax too much. The action keeps coming, the comic blundering and gags keep flowing and the fun never stops. Army of Darkness is far from flawless, but that is where Raimi and the gang take their most intelligent cues. Some of the gags and in-jokes in the film make repeat viewing of Army of Darkness a must. The film works as a send-up and as an original work, all at once. It is satirical without being a satire and parodies swashbuckling epics without being disingenuous in its delivery. Truly, if more films like Army of Darkness took on the genre, we’d be in a better cinematic place.
Army of Darkness is the perfect B-movie, the perfect matinée fun-fest and the perfect film for viewing when you need a laugh, a smirk and a smile. Its stop-motion animation and sleight-of-hand techniques, perfected by Raimi in the Evil Dead films, draw big laughs and tons of gross-out camp all at once. Despite trying to find various ways to describe Army of Darkness, it all really comes back to finding the one word that sums up such a film: fun.
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