ARMY OF DARKNESS
Review by John Beachem
* * * * 1/2
Directed by: Sam Raimi Written by: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Our one-handed, chainsaw wielding, fairly brainless hero, Ash (Bruce Campbell) is back. After being sucked into a vortex at the end of "Evil Dead II", Ash finds himself back in the middle ages, in the kingdom of King Arthur (Marcus Gilbert). Ash is taken captive by Arthur's men, along with Duke Henry the Red (Richard Grove), Arthur's mortal enemy. It seems Arthur and Henry are being attacked by the deadites (the demons Ash has already battled in the future), but they're still finding time to fight each other. Ash is taken back to Arthur's castle as a prisoner, despite the protestations of Arthur's advisor (Ian Abercrombie), who believes Ash to be the chosen one who will defeat the deadites. Ash soon escapes, entrances a young girl named Sheila (Embeth Davidtz), and promises to retrieve the Necronomicon for the wise man so the deadites can be stopped. Of course, Ash botches this retrieval pretty badly, and unleashes a massive army of the dead who will soon attack Arthur's castle. Now Ash, Arthur, and a handful of men must stop hundreds of walking skeletons from taking the Necronomicon and with it, the world. Maybe, just maybe Ash and his men can win.... yeah, and maybe I'm a Chinese jet pilot.
A lot of people call "Army of Darkness" the weakest entry into the "Evil Dead" trilogy. As a horror movie, yes, this is certainly the weakest film. While "Evil Dead" was a horror movie with occasional comic elements, and "Evil Dead II" was an almost 50/50 blend of horror and comedy, "Army of Darkness" is a comedy with an occasional horrific moment. For that reason, your average horror fanatic isn't going to have a great time. The rest of us, who enjoy comedies, will be rolling on the floor, laughing like idiots till we're blue in the face. Oh what a deliriously funny movie this is, filled with countless belly laughs and more chuckles than viewers have a right to experience. It's a movie packed with one-liners (nearly all of which were stolen by the video game, "Duke Nukem") that you'll be quoting for weeks (or in my case years), until your friends are ready to kill you for calling everything groovy whether it's groovy or not. What makes the movie so funny, so quotable, and just so memorable? Simple...
... it's Bruce Campbell. Campbell plays Ash a little differently this time around, but who can blame him? Battling a horde of demons is bound to change any man, and it has turned Ash into a man who thinks he's a lot smarter than he actually is. This makes for some great comic moments, such as when he must speak the sacred words (a little tribute to "The Day the Earth Stood Still") before removing the Necronomicon from the graveyard. Campbell's facial expressions during this and dozens of other comical scenes are second to none. The man is a master of contorting his face into expressions of sheer terror, complete bafflement, and lurking stupidity. One day Campbell's going to get his due, I just know it. Supporting characters meant little in the first two "Evil Dead" films, and they mean even less in "Army of Darkness". This is Campbell's movie, and no one tries to upstage him. Still, the supporting cast members do just fine in roles that require them to do little more than scream a lot. The only exception is Marcus Gilbert, who is really quite entertaining as the hard-as-nails King Arthur (No, I don't THINK it's that Arthur). Watch for Sam Raimi's younger brother, Ted, in three different cameos (a whining soldier, a cheering villager, and an S-Mart employee). Bridget Fonda ("A Simple Plan") appears briefly as Ash's girlfriend in a flashback (she's the third actress to play the same girlfriend).
While Bruce Campbell carries the film, he's assisted greatly by the always unique direction of Sam Raimi. Raimi toned his chaotic direction down a bit in "Evil Dead II", but he cranks it into overdrive here in part three. All the fat has been trimmed off this movie, which means no character development, no exposition of plot, no long scenes of dialogue, nothing by constant action and laughs. Obviously the film didn't fare too well with critics for those reasons, but it's sure to delight anyone ages 14 to 28 or so. It's frantic and wild, and it has more fun moments than you can shake a chainsaw at. My two personal favorite comic moments are Ash's scene in the graveyard, where he battles a horde of skeleton hands poking out of the ground (massive "Three Stooges" homage here), and Ash fighting a legion of tiny Ashes in a windmill. The latter scene leads into another great scene where Ash dances about singing "Mr. Goody Two-shoes" (don't worry, it'll make sense when you get there). But what about action, what about horror?! You're no doubt shouting that at your screen right now, and let me tell you, there is some great medieval action in "Army of Darkness". The final battle, involving an army of skeletons storming the castle, is packed with some of the best fantasy action you're likely to find in a movie. Sword fights and catapults and flaming arrows and - oh, sorry, I got a little worked up there.
But horror, where's the horror?! Well my friends, there's not much to be found. I suppose the scene with Ash fighting gouls in the pit could qualify as horror, but other than that you're not likely to find much here. Sorry. A lingering curiosity about "Army of Darkness" has always been the special effects. They're a curiosity because while they are, at times, really quite wonderful (particularly during the final battle, where we get hundreds of highly detailed skeletons marching in formation), they're also dreadful on occasion. I refer specifically to the matte jobs in a few scenes, like those with the tiny Ashes. They're so bad, and so dated, I can't help but think they're intentional for reasons buried deep within the mind of Sam Raimi (a terrifying place, I'm sure). One last thing worth noting is the film's score, and particularly one piece called "March of the Dead". It's composed by long-time Tim Burton collaborator, Danny Elfman, and a more perfect score could not possibly have been inserted in this film. "Army of Darkness" runs a lean, mean, 85 minutes. It stops just before it starts to wear out its welcome. I'd recommend it to fans of Bruce Campbell, fans of Raimi's unique directorial style, and fans of slap-stick comedy. I give it a well earned four and a half out of five stars.
Comments? Send to: johnbeachem@dependentfilms.net
Past reviews can be found at: http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?John+Beachem
* * * * * - One of the best movies of the year. * * * * - Great flick, try and catch this one. * * * - Okay movie, hits and misses. * * - Pretty bad, see it at your own risk. * - See this one only if you enjoy pain.
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