Movie Review: Army of Darkness (1992)

Army of Darkness (1992) co-written and directed by Sam Raimi

Ash (Bruce Campbell) is thrown into the 1300s AD by the evil force (an event that happened at the end of Evil Dead II). He is captured by Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert) who plans to execute him as an ally of Arthur's enemy, Henry the Red (Richard Grove). Back at Arthur's castle, they throw Ash into a pit where they expect him to die from the monsters that live inside. Ash beats them and emerges very upset. He orders Arthur to let Henry and his men go, then cuts a deal to get sent back to the future. The castle's wise man (Ian Ambercrombie) knows of a powerful book that has a formula that will send Ash home. It's the Necronomicon, the evil book that started all the trouble for Ash. He quests for the book, having bizarre and silly adventures along the way.

The movie is a departure for the Evil Dead films. While it still has the "splat-stick" gore comedy, the tone is much more comedic and embraces its medieval setting. There's plenty of horseback riding, swords, and arrows. The medieval characters all (or almost all) speak in Shakespearean style (even though Shakespeare was from the 1600s). Ash also develops into more of a hero, though mostly because he is forced to. He is a lot more competent at building things and chemistry (his car also came back in time, luckily he had a chemistry textbook in there!). By the end, he's become a leader/hero of the medieval people, fighting the Deadite army (that's what the locals call zombies) that attacks the castle. Of course, his incompetence at getting the Necronomicon is what caused the Deadite army to rise, so he's not completely heroic.

The plot is a bit haphazard, with many moments not making a lot of sense, even within the world Raimi creates. There is a director's cut of the film that fills in a lot of details and provides some more surreal and bizarre scenes, along with an alternate ending that is more in line with the way things go for Ash. From the commentaries and special features, it seems like the studio wanted a tighter film with a more upbeat ending. 

While the director's cut is more entertaining and makes more sense, the movie still has a lot of problems. The special effects run the gamut from impressive to dated, though the lower-budget effects stand out even more thirty years later. Ash's character arc is loopy, changing him from incompetent bungler to mechanical expert to sword-fighting hero with little credibility. He seemingly changes to suit the comedy or to move the plot along. Campbell gives a delightful performance, with plenty of comedy, often self-deprecating, making me delight in the absurd nonsense rather than chafe at it. Viewers have to be in a casual and indulgent mindset to enjoy the film.

Slightly recommended--when people ask me what my favorite movie is, I usually say "Ran is the best work of art, Raiders of the Lost Ark is the most fun, and Army of Darkness is my guiltiest pleasure." The movie is a big heap of dumb fun.