Army of Darkness [Blu-ray]

Army of Darkness is one of those movies that never gets old. It mixes horror, comedy, and fantasy in a way that's completely unique, and it never takes itself too seriously. The result is a fun, fast-paced adventure that's packed with memorable moments. Bruce Campbell is fantastic as Ash, bringing just the right mix of humor, confidence, and over-the-top action to the role. The practical effects, creative creatures, and quotable dialogue give the movie a charm that's hard to find in modern films. If you're a fan of the Evil Dead series or just enjoy cult classics with plenty of action and laughs, Army of Darkness is absolutely worth watching. It's endlessly entertaining and one of those movies I can watch again and again.

When we last saw Ash Williams, he had been sucked through a time vortex and ended up in the 14th century... where he STILL had to contend with undead horrors. No, not going to give context. "Army of Darkness" pretty much picks up from there, finishing up the legendary trilogy that Sam Raimi started with "The Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn." This time around, Sam Raimi dials down the horror once again, while dialing up massive quantities of skeletal comedy -- while there's the odd gross-out moment (eyeball in the shoulder!), most of the story is devoted to the increasingly manic Bruce Campbell struggling to defeat an undead horde of skeletons with only his trusty boomstick and chainsaw. Having appeared in the 14th century, Ash (Campbell) is immediately captured by the arrogant Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert), who mistakes him for one of Duke Henry's (Richard Grove) men. He tries to explain that he's not, but ends up tossed into an execution pit filled with iron spikes and demonic Deadites -- and only the timely intervention of the Wise Man (Ian Abercrombie) allows Ash to reclaim his chainsaw and "boomstick," kill the Deadites, and establish that he is a prophesied savior come to free them from the Deadite scourge. But of course, the entire universe hates Ash. So when he's sent on an incredibly simple quest to reclaim and de-power the Necronomicon, Ash immediately encounters bizarre Deadite attacks that are specifically designed to torment him -- including the formation of an evil doppelganger from his own body, Evil Ash. And when he manages to botch the whole thing, the Deadites prepare to storm the castle and take everything over. Life is hard when you're Ash. Considering that the series started with a serious attempt at horror, it's a little odd that "Army of Darkness" mostly drops the horror. Of course, there's still some gloriously gross moments (the emergence of Evil Ash, and his decaying face a few scenes later), but most of the movie is played for laughs (including a long sequence where Ash is assaulted by a small army of Lilliputian doppelgangers, who jab him in the butt with a fork and tie him to the floor). Even the grosser moments are played for laughs ("Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun"). And that's what makes this whole movie so gloriously entertaining -- it's gross, nasty and violent, but it's presented with the gleeful joy that comes with a cavalcade of one-liners and memetastic moments ("All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up... this... is my BOOMSTICK!"). Nothing is presented very seriously, because... well, how can you take this seriously? It's about a college student/S-Mart employee who gets blasted back in time to fight demonic zombies in a medieval setting. The cheese is thick and gloriously unserious, climaxing as Ash careens through the titular army in a massive armored steampunk-car/tank that easily hacks them apart. And despite the much larger cast and more extensive sets and special effects required, somehow Raimi maintains that rough, low-budget feel -- the stop-motion, tiny Ashes, and especially the battle sequences that are clearly against inanimate Halloween skeletons. It still feels like a cheesy low-budget movie that does NOT care Bruce Campbell is at the absolute height of his Campbellitude here -- he gives a delightfully hammy performance as a gun-toting, one-liner-spouting Ash. He plays the kind of guy that every guy likes to think he'd be in such a crisis, uttering don't-give-a-dang one-liners, shooting monsters and smooching a wench with extremely good teeth with great relish. And he gives an equally quotable ("Little goody two-shoes!") performance as the Evil Ash, who is just as snarky but... well, his face is rotting off. The supporting actors give good performances, especially Abercrombie as the wise man that nobody ever seems to actually listen to, but this is clearly the Campbell show here. It may have effectively left horror behind, but "Army of Darkness" instead embraces a gloriously gross brand of comedy, with knights, skeletons, bagpipes and one S-Mart employee with a boomstick and a robot hand. It's hard to find a movie more resolutely fun than this.

I love the Evil Dead Series. This one is my favorite. Set in Med-evil times. I love the skeletons in which we don't make them like we used to anymore. Good and funny.

Awesome. Everything I wanted it to be. This show aged so dang well!

Classic Evil Dead Movie.

So Ash turns from a wimp to a hero in part one, then a daft individual to a hero in part 2, and now he turns into an ass to a pain in the ass of a hero who can still pull off excellent one liners, slapstick extravaganzas, and comic relief throughout the course of an eighty minute movie.... okay, you have my attention! Plot: At the end of part two we see our humble hero getting sucked into a portal that leads him into the medieval era. Now if it had continued at how exactly part two ended, then it would've never had its epic opening scene, instead they would've believed in him all along.... Instead this beginning has him being treated as a crud-tastic enemy and thrown down into a pit, but as soon as he finishes the job down there the characters switch into the realization that hey, this dud could actually be useful. Although he is fed, pampered, and treated like a god gorging repeatedly on others vouching enthusiasm (hence the title of my review) he wants to return to his time and place. Can he say the right chant, retrieve the Necronomicon, and be sent back without unleashing evil.... Well, after everything I've said, what do you honestly think? Review: My attention was full on time and I was a mere 11 when I first saw this epic motion picture. And I am still yearning for a fourth movie. I hope at least the Remake is good. This movie is beyond brilliant, it did lack gore and a strong horror feel and it felt more like an action/adventure comedy rather than a horror comedy. But still, it works. It is always a fun watch and when the comedy comes in it never goes until the end credits roll. This movie was the biggest budget out of them all. It cost $13,500,000 to make and even though it wasn't a major success it still passed that budget in box office revenue making a little over $21,500,000! The special effects (including the epic battle at the end) and the props, set pieces, and constructed castles looked amazing and it made the movie even more pleasurable to watch! Was it as good as Evil Dead one and two? Almost... It is my least favorite of the trilogy but it is one of the best horror/action/adventure comedies I've ever seen! Acting: Bruce Campbell, He steels the show every time, Need there be said more about the acting, besides the rest of the cast acting cheek in tongue the whole film and succeeding in every way, there really isn't any other way to say just how much effort must've been put in by the actors, it's fun for me, fans, and critics all around. Gore: a blood shower, some sword impalings, and a little more! Bottom Line: What a great way to end a hopefully not finished series. This trilogy succeeds in every way and it will always be remembered to me as "The movies that each started new genres of their own!" Rated R for Violence and Horror Is it worth the Buy on a scale of 1-10: 10 (I'm guessing it depends what version you buy!) For the Movie itself on a scale of 1-5: 4

Good purchase, great pic, sound and quality

There's a lot to like about this movie from its campy plot and setting to Bruce Campbell's performance. It doesn't take itself seriously and still runs with the plot anyway.

Étant fan de ce film le steelbook me va parfaitement merci

Buona edizione questa Screwhead edition, qualità video OTTIMA, purtroppo è la versione cinematografica americana, per la director's cut consiglio vivamente la versione r3 Hong Kong, purtroppo non disponibile su Amazon, che è la migliore come qualità e l'unica realmente INTEGRALE. Extra: Creating the Deadites: Explore the groundbreaking visual effects work that created the ghastly legions of undead" (una featurette con Greg Nicotero e Howard Berger creata per questa edizione), il Finale Alternativo e il Trailer Cinematografico. Audio: Inglese 5.1; Inglese 2.0; Spagnolo 5.1. Sottotitoli: Inglese per non udenti; Spagnolo; Francese.

Bruce is king

Qué decir de esta tercera entrega de la serie Evil Dead: a must have!

very good.