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Army of Darkness (1992) More at IMDbPro »

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533 reviews in total

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110 out of 126 people found the following review useful:
Not for the pretentious, 4 April 2001

Author: Freddie Miles Fanclub from Philadelphia

Most people would say you can check your brain at the door before you watch this film, but I beg to differ. This is genuinely intelligent stuff here folks. The director, Sam Raimi, reminds us in this film what it is like to have fun. From the film itself, as well as the DVD featurettes, it is apparent that Mr. Raimi is having a blast doing what he does best. It shows too. Granted, there is not much in the line of plot or theme, but these would be totally gratuitous in this escapist piece. Instead, we are given a fantastic adventure, appropriately tongue-in-cheek special effects, and an ode to The Three Stooges. The facial expressions of Bruce Campbell alone make this film well worth its 80 minutes. I don't want to give away a single joke, because the experience is just too much fun. So, do yourself a favor. Watch this film without being so hard on yourself. Yes, you are allowed to laugh. There can be non-sardonic humor in modern day America. Sam Raimi proves it.

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95 out of 110 people found the following review useful:
"Hail to the king, baby!", 11 February 2004

Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada

Ash (Bruce Campbell), the main character from the two "Evil Dead" movies, has ended up in medieval times where he ends up on a quest to find the Book of the Dead (a.k.a. 'Necronomicon'). He's so dense he only remembers two of the three words that he has to say before grabbing the book, and he ultimately resurrects a legion of skeletal warriors, led by an 'evil' version of himself.

"Army of Darkness" is not as rooted in the horror genre as its predecessors - although it has its horrific elements - but it seems to be first and foremost a comedy - with lots of one-liners and slapstick. It's kind of a delirious combination of horror, comedy, fantasy, action, and adventure. Campbell is hilarious as Ash, firing off his one-liners as obnoxiously as possible and dominating the screen. Embeth Davidtz makes an appealing movie debut as 'Sheila', and several of co-writer/director Sam Raimi's colleagues (including his brothers Theodore and Ivan) have roles.

"Army of Darkness" is for the most part very well paced and does not take many breathers. It relies on special effects a lot, but the effects are often entertaining. It is a slick major studio effort from Raimi that concludes this trilogy on a high note.

Incidentally, just how many times has this been released and re-released on DVD?!?

10/10

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90 out of 105 people found the following review useful:
One the funniest movies I've ever seen!, 13 May 2002

Author: LebowskiT1000 from Escondido, California, USA

I remember when this film just came out in the theater, I didn't know anything about the Evil Dead films and in fact hadn't even heard of them. From the previews I had ZERO desire to see this film. The years went by and in late 2000 or maybe 2001 I finally decided to watch it, cause I'd heard so much about it and just couldn't take it anymore, I had to see what the fuss was about. I was NOT disappointed! This is probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen!!!

This movie is definitely not for everyone though. The comedy in this film is VERY odd, so I could understand if someone didn't find it funny at first. First thing you need to keep in mind is that this movie IS NOT trying to be serious, and most definitely doesn't take itself seriously. The movie is just plain weird, but that's what makes it so great. You really can't explain this movie to someone that hasn't seen it, you just need to see it for yourself.

Also, if you didn't already know this, this is the 3rd installment to a series. Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are the first two installments, then Army Of Darkness. You don't even need to see the first two to understand what's going on or anything like that. In fact, to this day I still haven't seen Evil Dead. When I watched Army of Darkness, I hadn't seen either Evil Dead or Evil Dead 2. Since then, I have seen Evil Dead 2, but neither film is a prerequisite for this film.

Also this film has an enormous amount of quotable lines. Bruce Campbell is THE MAN! The way he says stuff is just great!

Well, I truly hope that you'll watch this movie. But watch it with an open mind and remember that this IS a STUPID movie, but it's supposed to be. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

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51 out of 56 people found the following review useful:
Comedy and horror rolled into one, 2 June 2000
Author: Op_Prime from Ardmore, PA

Okay, maybe it's more comedy than horror, but who cares? Army of Darkness is an awesome movie. Bruce Campbell does an excellent job as Ash, the arrogant and hilarious hero armed with his trusty chainsaw and 'boom stick'. The plot was great and fresh, showing that the people behind the scenes were not trying to do the same thing that made Evil Dead I & II popular. The movie is filled with sword swinging skeletons, kick boxing witches and slap stick. Bruce Campbell has some excellent one liners. To sum it up, Army of Darkness is groovy.

But you can let it end here. Give us another sequel please.

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54 out of 65 people found the following review useful:
Ash returns with a whole lot of boomstick., 21 May 2003
Author: JohnnyPhoenix (Johnnyvolume555@hotmail.com) from Ottawa, Canada

Ash is back, literally. Trapped back in the middle ages, the Evil Dead hero must not only do battle once again with the merciless deadites, he must also take on the savage Army of Darkness.

Bruce Campbell returns as Ash, the only surviving member of the first two Evil Dead movies. This story pretty much takes up where the last one left off, with our hero trapped in the dark ages. Only instead of being revered as a hero, Ash is beaten and shackled by an army of men who believe him to be a member of a rival army. Quickly Ash is put to the test by once again doing battle with an evil deadite when the army throws him in to a pit. However, what they didn't expect was for Ash to defeat the deadite, which he does, and thus they render him a salvation. Our hero is then brought back to their town, and asked to journey out in search of the illustrious Necronomicon, so the evil can be destroyed once and for all. Reluctantly he agrees, but just like Ash, instead of finding the book and destroying the evil, he finds the book and not only creates an evil Ash, but an entire army of undead skeletons. Now the real battle begins and it's up to the living to stop the dead.

Army of Darkness stars the excellent Bruce Campbell in the role that was tailor made for him, and once again, he does his job perfectly. Watching the punishment this poor man takes is really a reason to rent this movie in itself. He is really the main focus, and there isn't a lot of screen time for anyone else, except for Ash's maiden love interest played by Embeth Davidtz. But to the fans of these films ,I'm sure that's just the way they like it.

Also returning is Sam Raimi the director/writer who has carved his name in Hollywood with these movies. This is a great re-telling of sorts of the Jason and the Argonauts story, only with a little more schlock, however in some scenes, like the skeletons giving Ash three stooges treatment, there is a little too much schlock. Don't get me wrong though, the film is funny and does have some great one-liners, such as Ash introducing his sawed off shotgun as his "boomstick", and calling some of the men "primitive screw-heads". The effects are great, and the direction is superb, especially scenes of the Army of Darkness riding horseback and attacking the castle.

However, being a huge fan of zombie movies, I was hopping to see a few more deadites and a few less skeletons. Although I know Raimi did this on purpose so he could put a different spin on his story and keep it original. Of special note, on DVD there is the actual original ending that was not shown in theatres. It's a great ending that keeps a little more in tow with the story, and does an interesting job of setting itself up for a sequel.

Raimi, producer Rob Tapert, and co-writer Ivan Raimi, do a good job of putting this film together, and it is a lot of fun to watch. Although not as serious and as gory as the first two, this third installment definitely makes me thirst for another sequel. I do hope, however, that they go back to the style of the original films, cutting out a little of that schlock, and adding in a few more chills. So if you're in the mood for a horror trilogy, check out the first two Evil Dead movies and then get ready to take on the Army of Darkness.

Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10

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49 out of 57 people found the following review useful:
Funny and cool!, 25 July 2002
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

At the end of Evil Dead 2 Ash is sucked back in time through a time warp. He returns to medieval times where he is mistaken for the prophesied saviour. He is sent to recover the lost Necronomicon to save the people but also return him to his own time. Typically he makes a mistake when reading the book and he reserectes the army of the undead onto the land. Ash must fight to defeat yet more undead fiends!

The third in the series sees the gore drop off and the comedy step up even more. The previous two were both darkly funny but this is just plain hilarious. The sheer raft of one liners and silly/horror set ups keeps you laughing all the way. The horror is not scary as before – mainly because the gore is gone, however I prefer this as the stop motion stuff gives it an old fashioned feel that adds to the value of it – it's hard to explain but I really enjoy this because it feels like an old Harryhausen film.

Campbell is brilliant – I bet he can't believe hi s luck, the rest of his career he's struggled but Rami seem to love him. And rightly so, he is like Jim Carrey but has so much more talent and is a classic B-movie leading man type. The rest of the cast are so-so but really this is an one man show and he does it really well.

Overall this is a great little film. Fans of the series will love it, fans of comedy should love it and fans of B-movie cheese should enjoy it. And the less gore means fun for all the family (almost).

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54 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
This has to be one of the funniest movies of all time., 13 May 2002

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

Well, at least I found it to be hilarious. I really did get into the Evil Dead series, it was so silly how it even started. I just happened to have a Blockbuster gift card and bought a pre-viewed "Evil Dead" and my mom had watched it with me. Strange, right? Well, because of her, I got to see one of the best movie trilogies of all time. Not to mention I couldn't believe the fan base these movies have. So it's good to know that I'm not alone.

Army of Darkness starts where Evil Dead 2 left off. Ashley has now gone back in time to the mid-evil times where he has to find a way back to his time. But the people he has met through this time think that he is the one who will save them all from the evil dead. They promise to help him find a way back if he saves them. Along that journey, he meets a beautiful peasant girl, Sheila, and they have a romantic affair. Along his journey to save the people, he must retrieve the "Book of the Dead", but when he slurs the words and does a half assed job of it, the book rises an evil twin of Ash's and leads his Army of Darkness to destroy the village Ash has promised to save.

This movie has great laughs and is a great end to this terrific trilogy. You won't regret seeing it, trust me.

10/10

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30 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
"Well hello Mr. Fancy Pants.", 2 June 2004

Author: DarthBill from United States

Picking up where "Evil Dead II" left off in a somewhat altered opening, Bruce Campbell, now a full blown Han Solo smart ass, is trapped in the dark ages and is eventually found to be the one fated to the Deadites after he retrieves the Book of the Dead, which can also help send him back to his own time. But Bruce, being as stupid as he is, screws up the magic words that are meant to keep the Army of Darkness away and he ends up unleashing an army of undead skeletons by accident who are led by his evil alter ego. Now he must use his 20th century know how to save the day or else evil will forever rule the Earth.

Bruce is back and funnier than ever. No real horror here, more of a parody of a big budget fantasy adventure film. Sadly, a number of great gags were left on the cutting room floor that are generally only seen on extended DVD's and TV showings.

Hail to the King, baby.

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42 out of 61 people found the following review useful:
Listen you stuffy screwheads...their names are Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell and this movie is their boomstick!, 12 September 2005

Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

The third time really is the charm, and "Army of Darkness" proves it incontrovertibly. This time, they just let the movie be what the first two movies were at heart: nice, silly, goofy, wacko, nonsensical fun. Just imagine the Three Stooges starring in a horror flick and you've got "Army of Darkness". The whole movie basically consists of Ash (Bruce Campbell) going after various evil spirits in the funniest way possible. And the quotes are some of the most hilarious quotes that you could ever imagine, probably mostly owing to how Bruce Campbell says them. Literally every scene is pure hilarity. Whether it's Ash showing his "boomstick", having trouble retrieving the book, battling mini-Ashes, or the big battle at the end, you never stop laughing yourself hoarse (I particularly liked some of the bone-related quotes). It doesn't even suffice to give this movie 10/10 stars. It deserves 100...no, a million...no, infinity out of 10 stars. Yeah, infinity out of 10 stars. Bruce Campbell not only deserves a star on the Walk of Fame, there needs to be a statue of him.

Oh, and an extra note. When I went to see "Bubba Ho-Tep" in the theater, Bruce Campbell was supposed to be there, but had to cancel. So, there was a short clip at the beginning showing him thanking us for coming, when his phone rang: "Hello...Oh, hi Sam. Listen, I'll get to you in a minute." (turns to audience) "So thanks for coming to this movie." (retrieves his phone) "Yeah, Sam?..."Evil Dead 4"?! I'll do it!"

I just wonder how they would continue the story, now that Ash battled skeletons with his "boomstick".

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26 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
81 minutes of pure fun!, 28 March 2006

Author: S.R. Dipaling from Topeka, Kansas, USA

The third--and presumably last--of the Evil Dead movies finds Ash Williams(B-movie supreme ruler Bruce Campbell in full froth)somehow transported(along with his broken down car)in Medieval England,about to do battle,once again,with the undead,with the aid of(among other things) his "boom stick" and his chainsaw. While being a strange man in a strange land,he romances plucky lass Sheila(Embeth Davitz,pre-Schindler's List) and aiding the reluctant natives(among them Ian Abercrombie,MArcus Gilbert and Richard Groce).

To me(and I suspect I am not alone on this),one of the neat things about this film is that it moves at such a rip-roaring pace that one has little time to catch their breath or even add up the absurdity of the story. But,to quote another commenter,Who cares? This offering,which pretty much eschews the original Evil Dead's Horror premise,and capitalizes on more of the crazed,feverish pacing of Evil Dead 2,seems content to offer large doses of humor mixed with raucous violence and only the thinnest character exposition. Bully for director/co-writer Sam Raimi,co-writer Ivan Raimi and company on this! This is a great "palate-cleanser" of a movie and is a solid party film(among other occasions),whether you're fans of Campbell,Raimi,berserker action films,comedies or all four.

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