‘But in my own way, I am king...’
I was never a massive fan of Army of Darkness as a kid, mainly because it’s so tonally different to The Evil Dead – a film that I utterly adored. The best and indeed only way to enjoy this third entry in the franchise is to view it as its own separate thing. Ash Williams is properly fleshed out for the first time, we are given some background into the history of the Deadites and all of this with Raimi’s signature camera work and Bruce Campbell’s signature chin. It’s quite the ride…
As signposted at the end of Evil Dead II, Ash (Campbell) is transported back to medieval times (the original title was The Medieval Dead) where he must recapture the Necronomicon and somehow find his way back to his own time.
Buoyed by the success of the first two films and bolstered with a proper budget, Army of Darkness feels like the film that Raimi and Campbell always wanted to make. They only got into horror in the first place because it’s cheap and bankable, and it shows here. Army of Darkness is more comedy than horror, more fantasy than macabre. The result is a film that is a whole load of swashbuckling fun. Raimi’s third entry in the franchise is closer to Jason and the Argonauts than it is to any of the other films from the video nasty era and while that makes it the weakest entry in the franchise for me, I can see why others adore it.
Army of Darkness will always be the neglected third child of the original Evil Dead trilogy for me, but there is no doubt that as horror sequels go, it is bold, daring and innovative. An excellent showcase for the considerable talents of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.