Cult Classic

Rating: Null/10 (18 March 2016)

Army of Darkness A.K.A. Evil Dead 3 is once again directed by Sam Raimi and it's the epic return of Bruce Campbell as Ash, our hero with a chainsaw for an arm. The Evil Dead is one of my favorite movies ever and Evil Dead 2 is so different that's it's also pretty good in its own right (although I am one of those weirdos who prefers the first Evil Dead). While the first film in the series was going for a campy horror tone, the second one was more of a goofy campy horror movie and now Army of Darkness leaves all the horror behind and focuses 100% on comedy.
The movie is a slapstick comedy and it never tries to be anything else. It's goofy, schlocky and it never takes itself seriously, at all. I love the set designs, costumes and makeup too. It's all pretty schlocky and weird but it's so great especially because of the movie's tone. I love the skeletons that move in stop-motion. And I really love about the first 30 minutes of Army of Darkness, it's constant laughter. After that however, after the scene Ash goes into the mill, the movie starts to go downhill. The comedy doesn't always work and it becomes very hit or miss. The story also becomes predictable when everyone thinks Ash will abandon them to die and it's so obvious that he's gonna stay and fight. The battle feels way too long (even if it's not) and it's because not all of the humor works. Oddly, I found so many similarities between The Two Towers and Army of Darkness. Many shots and set designs of the castle during the battle looked pretty similar to the battle of Helm's Deep in Lord of the Rings. Also some of the things that happen are very similar: like Henry's army arriving to save the day when all hope seems lost. It's like when Gandalf shows up with the Rohirrim.
Anyway, Army of Darkness is certainly not a great film, I probably wouldn't even call it a good film but it works (for the most part) and there's a reason it's become a cult classic by now. Bruce Campbell is amazing and delivers some of the best one-liners ever and it's just a movie that has so much energy. It always puts a big smile on my face.