Classic Movie Review: 'Army of Darkness'

Army of Darkness (1993)

Directed by Sam Raimi

Written by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi

Starring Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz

Release Date February 19th, 1993

Published June 20th, 2023

Army of Darkness is a direct sequel to Evil Dead 2 but, in the tradition of Evil Dead 1, continuity between the two is not necessary. The basic elements are enough to marry one film to the other. Ash (Bruce Campbell), survived a fight against the Deadites, zombie demons from another dimension, only to find himself sucked into another dimension. In this dimension there are Kings and servants, warring clans, and an ancient evil that Ash happens to have some experience in defeating. After demonstrating god-like powers in surviving against a Deadite at the bottom of a well, Ash is welcomed into this bizarre world.

In classically Ash fashion, he immediately flirts with and gets the girl, Sheila (Davidtz), who is subsequently stolen away and corrupted by the Deadites. In order to free this cursed land from the evil of the Deadites, Ash must go on a quest to retrieve the Book of the Dead, the very book that got him into this mess in Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2. The book was sucked through this dimensional portal along with Ash and has now fallen into the hands of the Deadites who've placed it in a cursed cemetery. The Arthurian touches in Army of Darkness are inspired gags.

The key to Army of Darkness however, is a spirit of anarchic invention. Director Sam Raimi and his star, Bruce Campbell show off a childlike glee as they workout different bits and gags they can do with the larger budget and platform they were given following the modest but notable success of Evil Dead 2. If you ask Raimi, he would say that he didn't need the budget that was given to him but he also then felt obligated to spend it since he had it. With that, we get both improved special effects and the kinds of practical effects that Raimi developed a remarkable talent for in the Evil Dead movies.

The combinations of Harryhausen-inspired practicality, music, and slightly more expensive effects, are used to create a low budget atmosphere on a relatively large budget. Raimi's homemade aesthetic somehow survives the move to a big studio feature and there is a wonderful charm to how Army of Darkness combines big effects with the kind of inventive, chaotic, weirdness that drove Raimi in his early career as a filmmaker. The delight Raimi and his collaborators take in creating comic gore, and paying tribute to low budget effects movies of the past is wonderfully infectious.

Bruce Campbell however, is perhaps the best special effect in the movie. Campbell's ability for physical comedy, his willingness to put his body on the line for a gag, and his more than willingness to be silly, is an incredible asset to the charm of Army of Darkness. His Ash may talk like a cross between the tough guy banter of Bogart and the suave charm of Errol Flynn, but Campbell has a comic quality that neither of those legendary performers has. It's a sly ability to ride the razors edge between silly camp and action movie star that is a one of a kind combination.

The spirit of Army of Darkness is what I love more than anything about this absolute classic horror comedy. There is a spirit of invention, excitement and a commitment to having a good time that flows off the screen. It's easy to sense that everyone making Army of Darkness was involved in making it as fun and funny as possible. Raimi and Campbell especially, appear to be having an absolute blast playing with the toys they've been given and coming up with crazy things they can do with Ash and with the Deadite creatures, as well as playing with the tropes of Arthurian era melodrama.

Army of Darkness is a movie I have returned to at least once a year since I discovered it for myself almost 30 years ago on cable. It's a brilliant extension of the Evil Dead lore, building upon the foundation of the gory, silly, anarchy of Evil Dead 2, to expand the comic and horrific possibilities. Raimi's talent for staging and his star's magnetic charisma and comic inspiration, are an unbeatable combination. I'm sure there are flaws in Army of Darkness that I could pick at, but why? This movie is way too fun to spend any time on nitpicking.

Army of Darkness was recently the subject of my new podcast, a spinoff of the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast, Everyone's a Critic 1993. On the show, myself, and teenager M. J, and Gen-X-er Amy, are watching the movies of 1993 in chronological release order. Then we talk about how movies and popular culture have changed in the past 30 years and reshaped how we see movies from the not-to-distant past. It's a fun and fascinating subject and you can take part by listening to the Everyone's a Critic 1993 podcast, on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast feed, wherever you listen to podcasts.

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