Evil Dead is a cult classic film full of gorn and is well remembered. Its sequel Evil Dead 2 is considered far better, but its the second sequel “Army Of Darkness” that is best remembered from the trilogy. It was this film that established Ash Williams fully as the character all know and love. It is the characterization from this film that has endured for so many years and has found new life in “Ash vs Evil Dead”
Army of Darkness moved fully from the gorn genre towards horror comedy and while not successful in the theatres at the time, it has held up extremely well as the years have gone by. Some of the most well known lines from the movie are quoted in pop culture frequently (often without attribution) and this can be attributed to just how well star Bruce Campbell delivered his lines. Bruce was perfect as the idiot hero who is a failure at everything but killing the undead. His playing both the role of Ash and Evil Ash was also masterful as he showed the right blend of camp and creepiness that made the role memorable.
Army of Darkness showed that films in the horror genre could expand in new directions and even surpass their source while retaining the spirit of the original film. Horror Comedy often veers from one extreme to the other, and while Army of Darkness is more action oriented than horror, it is clearly cut from the same cloth as Evil Dead 2. The effects in the movie hold up surprisingly well. mostly due to being practical effects, and the film is still enjoyable today. I highly suggest checking it out.
One last thing that is especially noteworthy is that the opening of the film may have inspired a famous video game’s opening. To quote TV Tropes.
The hero is introduced captured with the leader of the opposing forces, who he has nothing to do with. They are taken to the citadel where one of the mooks with him is killed by arrows trying to escape and another is killed just before the hero. The hero gets out with help of a monster distracting everyone.
Sounds like skyrim doesn’t it?
Well I just have one thing to say to end this reivew: Groovy!