Bruce is back!

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2018)

'Evil Dead.' The original 'video nasty.' 'Evil Dead II.' The half sequel, half remake, three quarters reboot of the original 'video nasty.' 'Army of Darkness.' The sequel to one ending of the remake of 'Evil Dead' which sort of follows on, but also kind of creates a new continuity which then gets erased depending on which version you watch and then how you interpret what follows in 'Ash vs The Evil Dead.' Confused yet? It doesn't matter. Basically, if you're a fan of cheesy horror-comedies (or just love Bruce Campbell as much as I do) then you'll have a blast with 'Army of Darkness.' Despite 'The Evil Dead' franchise's 'liberal' attitude to continuity, no one seems to care. That's probably because its fan-base is just so damn loyal that they forgive these frequent lapses in story-telling and simply enjoy the films (and now TV show) for what they are - dumb, silly - and very, very gory - fun.
'Army of Darkness' carries on this tradition. Yes, you probably should have watched at least 'Evil Dead II,' but this (sort of) third instalment will hardly punish you for not knowing its entire back story. Basically, a man gets trapped in medieval times and has to fight his way back to the present. However, it just so happens that the man in question has just so happened to have a lot of experience in slaying disgusting monsters and manages to do it without the use of a hand and an array of dry quips (and a shotgun - that comes in pretty handy, too). Yes, it's none other than 'Ash,' played effortlessly by Bruce Campbell.
If you've never heard of Ash/Bruce Campbell, it's actually quite hard to tell where one ends and the other begins (assuming they're different people to begin with). He's certainly not your average hero. He's definitely not politically correct and fits perfectly with the whole 'Evil Dead' feel of gore and gags. It never takes itself seriously and delights in spraying more unnecessary pints of blood all over the screen for as long as possible (most of which ends up on Bruce one way or another!).
I suppose if you're completely used to 'modern horror' and like your films 'dark, gritty and realistic' then you may hate 'Army of Darkness' (and the whole 'Evil Dead' vibe). The special effects are pretty cheap-looking (not much computer-generated effects here, mainly blue screen and practical effects). It's hardly scary, choosing self-knowingness over true horror. But it certainly is disgusting. And great fun. There's a reason why the 'Evil Dead' films have stood the test of time (and why its dark and gritty remake of 2013 is barely worth talking about). 'Army of Darkness' is a shining example of a great film that can be made without the need for a massive budget (although, compared to the original 'Evil Dead's' budget, I guess 'Army of Darkness' was 'expensive!'
Hail to the king of B-movies and the whole 'Evil Dead' franchise.