ARMY OF DARKNESS
(aka "The Evil Dead 3")
(1992)With Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove, Bridget Fonda
Directed by Sam Raimi
Reviewed by JB
There seem to be more versions of this film worldwide than any film I
know of, with alternate scenes and a wildly different ending available
depending on what part of the world you are watching it in. What
you see during a Sci-Fi Channel airing is different than what you see
when renting a DVD, which will probably be different from what you
see if you rent a different DVD release. For fans who think this is one
of the greatest cult movies ever, tracking down such esoterica is all
part of the fun. For the rest of us, it's just confusing.
The film is best known for its dialogue, with some classic
one-liners from star Bruce Campbell, but some of the most famous lines
("Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun.") aren't even in
some versions.
The Evil Dead trilogy is one of the strangest on record. You know what you are getting when you rent LORD OF THE RINGS, the original STAR WARS films or the GODFATHER movies. But rent EVIL DEAD and you get a horror movie. Rent EVIL DEAD 2 and you get the same film gagged up with Three Stooges humor. Rent ARMY OF DARKNESS and you get a fantasy comedy set in medieval times. I sometimes wonder if there are fans of the series who actually like all three films.
Anyway, in ARMY OF DARKNESS we find our hero Ashe from EVIL DEAD 2
transported in time back to the 1300s, where he must track down an
ancient evil book, recite some ancient evil words ("Klaatu Verada
Niktu") and teach "primitive screwheads" how to fight the evil Army of
the Dead. In the words of Bruce Campbell himself, it is a
"dumbbell film". There is no great message, no attempt at doing
anything artful, there is just running, slashing, screaming,
gesticulating and a dozen or so catchphrases uttered by the always
great Mr. Campbell, king of the B-Movies. It is a film I watch every once in a while not
because I love it, but because there are so few movies where Bruce
Campbell is allowed to shine throughout, and ARMY OF DARKNESS is one of
them. I'll sit through some boring scenes and cheesy effects
(though to be fair, the cheesy effects are part of the charm) just to
hear Campbell toss off his self-parodic tough guy lines ("First you
want to kill me, then you want to kiss me. Blow.") and
execute facial reactions that make the Ritz Brothers look
like The Royal Shakespeare Company. I still prefer EVIL DEAD
2 and BUBBA HO-TEP (where Campbell's aging Elvis battles a mummy
- yeah, I'll probably review that one some day too) but ARMY OF
DARKNESS comes up on my personal rotation every few years or so,
just so I can relive scenes such as Ashe trying to cover up the fact
that he has forgotten the ancient magical words he needs to say by
coughing his way through the final word ("Maybe I didn't say every tiny
little syllable, but basically I said them, yeah..."). 
- JB
ADD ANOTHER QUOTE AND MAKE IT A GALLON
"I am Henry the Red, Duke of Shale, Lord of the Northland and leader of its peoples."
"Well, helloooo, Mr. Fancypants!"
IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?
Bridget Fonda has a small cameo in the film. Sam Raimi and
Bruce Campbell agreed to give her a part simply because she was a fan
and asked to be in the new one.
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Copyright © 2008 John V. Brennan, John Larrabee