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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