HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 19: ARMY OF DARKNESS

I remember seeing a trailer for this movie when I was about 9 or 10 on TV and it looked so bizarre and frightening that it scared the crap out of me! Then I saw the poster with Ash and his chainsaw hand, perhaps the coolest image and film poster of all time, advertised in my comic books. Then years went by and around 6th or 7th grade a buddy of mine bought a book titled THE MODERN HORROR FILM by John McCarty and in it was an entry on Evil Dead II. We rented Evil Dead II because of that book. I saw the chainsaw hand and went, "Hey- I know that chainsaw hand!" By the end of the movie I had put two & two together and went out that night to rent ARMY OF DARKNESS.

Also known as EVIL DEAD III: HAIL TO THE KING or so I've heard, Army of Darkness is the third film in the cult classic essential horror viewing trilogy of Evil Dead and Evil Dead II. I'm sure you all know this film very well and probably everything I'm going to say won't be news at all. But I'm going to say it anyway because this movie is awesome!

Bruce Campbell returns once again as Ash, the gun toting loud-mouthed braggert demon slaying department store salesman. Trapped in medieval Europe. Surrounded by castles, knights, and chaste maidens. The world in peril against the threat of the Deadites, evil demons in reanimated corpses. The source of their destruction is also the source of their salvation: Necronomicon Ex Mortis ~ The Book of the Dead. Ash must reclaim the book, which fuels the Deadites, to recite a passage from it that can end the terror of the Deadites and send him back to his own time.

Ash blows it.

Now an army of the dead marches upon humanity because he couldn't remember three little words. Ash amasses his own army. Teaches them fighting techniques and chemistry. Together they wage an epic battle of the ages, 20th century science coupled with medieval warfare. Ash's evil twin leads the army of the Deadites and he raises every corpse from the grave that he can find, sword in hand. It's Ash vs Ash, winner take all!

The Evil Dead Trilogy underwent a transformation with each film. The original film was intended to be a straight horror film, the ultimate experience in grueling terror. To some it was. To others its low budget and absurdity appeared humorous. As a result of the "unintended" humor the second film embraced the low budget absurdity. What resulted is perhaps the perfect blend of horror and comedy ever filmed. Evil Dead II is a unique and amazing experience unequaled. The final film in the trilogy takes the humor one step further into a full fledged comedy and is the least frightening of the three. The film is immensely enjoyable despite the lack of terror, mostly due in part the lovable buffoon charm of Bruce Campbell and the badassness that is Ash.

There were two cuts of the film too. The original cut was longer featuring extended scenes in the windmill, a gratuitous sex scene, and extended battle sequences. It also had a darker ending where Ash awakens hoping he has returned to his own time only to find out he has slept through the apocalypse. All that's left of the world are ruins. The studio execs didn't much care for this, made director Sam Raimi change the ending and cut down the film. Thankfully the original cut survived. It flows better. The scenes are in order and make more sense than the studio edited version. It feels more like a proper Evil Dead film.

Today I watched the theatrical cut. Even though it has been recut, scenes rearranged, and ending changed, it is still a good movie. I own the long out of print "Boomstick Edition" dvd set containing both cuts of the film. There's an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurette, and more. If you can track down a copy of this edition I highly recommend it. It is so choice.

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 2 out of 10