Quite possibly the greatest "B" movie ever made...

Rating: 10/10 (10 October 2000)

**WARNING** The following contains a plot summary of Army of Darkness. If you want to enjoy the movie without knowing the plot ahead of time, do not read the paragraphs below.
Bruce Campbell dons the mantle of our beloved hero Ash in the third of the Evil Dead series. This is almost a completely stand-alone movie, and can be watched without having to view the previous two. Bridget Fonda makes an ever-so brief cameo in the beginning as his ill-fated girlfriend from Evil Dead 2. Why make an appearance in a movie like this if you have never been involved with the project before? As Bruce Campbell himself said, when asked the same question, "Would YOU turn down Bridget Fonda if she asked to have a small role in Army of Darkness?"
The Book of the Dead, or Necronomicon, opens up a space/time gateway to medieval England, and Ash, along with his Oldsmobile, land with a thud. He is happened upon by a scouting party who mistake him for an enemy spy. After proving his worth to the nobles and peasants by fighting a Deadite in a breathtaking pit sequence, and winning the unwanted attention of a young maiden, the "magicians" of the court tell him that the only way to get back to his own time is to once again find the Necronomicon, which contains the needed magical phrases.
On his quest for the Book of the Dead, he spends a night in an old, dilapidated windmill. Evil magic is afoot, as his reflection in a mirror takes on a life of its own, calling itself Evil Ash. After a short scuffle with Evil Ash, Ash whips out his trusty boomstick, shoots Evil Ash dead in the face, and utters one of his famous taglines, "Good...bad...I'm the one with the gun."
Traveling on, he finally comes across his prize...or prizes as the case may be. Ash comes across a dark altar with not one, but three Necronomicons. Remembering only part of the incantation needed to take the Necronomicon from its resting place, coupled with choosing the wrong book, Ash makes a costly mistake. Evil Ash is raised from the dead, his face half-blown off from Ash's gunshot. Being formerly part of Ash (his reflection), he knows what Ash knows, and knows where Ash will be bringing the Necronomicon. Evil Ash uses his dark power to raise a Deadite army, with which he will lay siege to the town and castle.
Ash, returning to the castle with the true Necronomicon, finds himself playing peace-maker between the locals and a neighboring town, who have been overtaken by the Deadite army. The two factions settle their differences, and make their stand against the Deadites, but not without initial loss. The young maiden who had caught the eye of Ash, is spirited away by a Deadite winged scout, and brainwashed into joining the Deadites.
The Deadite army surrounds the castle, and Ash, being the ingenius hero we have all come to know, uses his knowledge to devise semi-modern weaponry to use against the Deadites, including gunpowder-tipped arrows and transforming his Oldsmobile into a battletank.
In the end, all is well. The epic battle is won by Ash, Evil Ash is blown apart by a cache of gunpowder, the spell over the young maiden is broken, and the Deadites break ranks and flee. Ash uses the Necronomicon to return home, but not without one last surprise. A superb gem of a movie that deserved much more credit than is granted it.