Where to Watch Army of Darkness
Cast of Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness Ratings & Reviews
- KiNG CRAiGJanuary 26, 2025The 3rd Evil Dead film… What an absolute classic. A comical gore-fest from start to finish #BOOMSTICK
- Mister ArnMay 17, 2025“Army of Darkness” is a classic of B-movie entertainment. It is characterized by its deliberate embrace of absurdity, innovative camera work, and sharp wit. Its willingness to indulge in the ridiculous makes it an amusing watch.
- Vincent ReggianniniMay 1, 2025A Treasure trove of perfect adolescent one-liners delivered expertly by a hammy, cocksure Bruce Campbell. Thrust into a wholly unbelievable premise but carried by a whirlwind of quips and quirky comebacks (that every teenage boy memorized in their high school years) this delightfully manic Sam Raimi love-child carries our hero, Ash, from an S-Mart Cashier to Middle Age European battlefield against a legion of “The Evil Dead”.
- GnomeSliceApril 5, 2025Fun for the whole family. Mostly.
- Joey ThorinFebruary 8, 2025Alright listen up ya primitive screw heads. This is probably my #1 favorite out of the entire series it's an instant classic with a mix of horror and comedy done beautifully. Bruce Campbell and Raimi are absolutely legends. I own all movies and the show on 4k bluray.
- HumptyFebruary 20, 2025Groovy!
- 匚卂尺ㄥFebruary 5, 2025To fans of the Evil Dead films this Blu-ray is no doubt a godsend; it contains two versions of Army of Darkness, the cinema release and a director's cut, each with different endings. In this respect the latter wins; Sam Raimi's intended last shot is a funny, bitter punchline. The studio approved finale's also good - it has a neat fight scene - but Raimi's is better. The studio were right about one thing though: Raimi's cut is too long. There's a lengthy action climax that doesn't suit a madcap film; the plot's just a clothesline on which to hang comic set pieces and special effects, so the swordplay grows pointless. The heroes and villains are caricatures, so why do they need an epic battle? It's like if Airplane! ditched the jokes during its third act and became a serious action film. The studio cut is also better-looking; its effects scenes are much clearer, but I think that's because Raimi's unused cut wasn't cleaned up for general release (or maybe, as another review suggests, it was poorly transferred from someone's VHS copy). The plot is very simple: after a prologue covering Evil Dead 2 we pick up where that film left off, with Ash (Bruce Campbell) in 1300AD, where he's surrounded and almost killed by Lord Arthur's (Marcus Gilbert) men. After he shows off his shotgun and chainsaw they make a deal with him; if Ash brings them the Book of the Dead they'll use it to send him home. Ash messes this up, and in doing so raises an army of the dead which he'll lead Lord Arthur's men against. The angelic Embeth Davidtz plays a love interest, and in a great scene she and Ash parody how fantasy heroes fall for each other. Army of Darkness' tone is almost the polar opposite of Evil Dead's, and though Evil Dead 2 was a comedy it's still much grimmer than this second sequel. Army of Darkness is a bit like if David Lynch directed a Three Stooges short. It's compellingly strange at times, but through it all is a light and jolly romp which aims for humour rather than tension. Campbell, who was an average slasher hero in Evil Dead, gives a brilliant comic performance here. He's a great physical comedian; he has a few slapstick scenes which are surreal and hilarious. It would be unfair to say that everyone else phones it in, but that's kind of how it feels. Apart from a couple of villains the others aren't memorable; they're basically enacting cliches for Ash to banter with. All in all, Army of Darkness is a weird, light-hearted fantasy adventure filled with imagination. Raimi rightly doesn't worry about plot, focusing instead on slapstick, parody and awesome visuals. This is a shamelessly outlandish film which doesn't care if you get it or not; for those who do get it, it's a hell of a ride.
