Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness Review
Ash is Back. Trapped in Time. Surrounded by Evil. Low on Gas.
Sep 22, 2008
At the end of Evil Dead 2, Ash is thrown back through time into England, circa 1300 A.D. (at least, what seems to be an England with a small region of desert), where he is captured by Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert) and his men.
Instead of adhering to the final scene of the second film, Raimi here takes a more scenic route before Ash convinces the locals of his ‘heroism’. And once Ash has replaced chainsaw with bionic hand he agrees to quest for the Necronomicon Ex Mortis (the famous Book of the Dead).
With it, he can not only save the kingdom from the blight of the Deadites, but return to his own time. All he has to do is properly pronounce three words to ensure the Book does not raise the army of the dead – hence the finale, in which he has to fight an army of the dead.
Evil Dead 3 Summary
Of the three Evil Dead films, Army of Darkness is perceived to be the weakest, with some critics maintaining that it’s nothing short of awful. This article will beg to differ, suggesting that Army of Darkness is indeed a worthy completion of the trilogy, despite some granted shortcomings.
This film is a comedy through and through, with any trace elements of horror from the first two films all but extinct. It lacks both the formative brilliance of the first film and the perfect balance of the second, but what it does have is the courage to be as ridiculous a third film as the course of the first two suggested was coming.
The film is weakest in the second act, with time spent on a few loony-tunes-esque comedy routines that go too far, and there is a lack in the intrinsics of the series, namely the gory deadites, but there’s still plenty of laughs that work and some great dialogue to be found.
The third act may be sheer madness, but there's reason to be kind. After all, there are few substitutes in comedy for seeing grown men whaling on puppet skeletons. The stop-motion sequences came at a time when Harryhausen techniques were being overtaken by the digital age, and are kind of precious.
There were some alterations made between the final print and theatrical releases of the film, notably an alternate ending and some minor differences in the script.
Evil Dead 3 Cast
The supporting cast really don’t have much supporting to do. This is a one-man show, except for the one woman – Embeth Davidtz. She plays Ash’s love interest for this film and plays it earnestly, only later joining in with the fun when she is captured by the Deadites.
Similarly, Marcus Gilbert as Arthur and Richard Grove as his scottish enemy, Duke Henry the Red, both play their very limited roles with some welcome sincerity. The only other actor whose character is of note in the film is Ian Abercrombie as the instructive Wiseman.
Bruce “Gimme some sugar, baby” Campbell
When he is not being a fool, Ash is now presented as a full-blown action hero, immune to most laws of physics. His dual-barrel shotgun can materialize from nowhere just when he needs it and be fired repeatedly without reloading (or is he simply that fast?).
His belt can double as a useful whip and Ash seems to have acquired an intricate understanding of cybernetic limb replacement, explosive chemistry, military tactics, engineering and metallurgy, for no other reason than he is from the 20th century.
This is a superb evolution of the character and the third film’s greatest contribution to the trilogy, aside from it’s dialogue. Surely, everyone will agree that Ash’s “Who wants some?” and “This is my Boomstick!” speeches are well worthy of a place in the trilogy?
Bruce Campbell continues to play Ash like he was born for it and his overly macho displays and one-liners are pure gold. His turn as his own evil counterpart, ‘Bad Ash’, is also a highlight of the film, giving us the immortal “You’re little goody-two-shoes Ash” scene.
Campbell has a supreme sense of comic timing and ‘B-movie’ acting for both parts and will forever be the King of this particular niché in film-making.
Hail to the King, baby.
Director Sam Raimi, My Name is Bruce and Evil Dead 4?
Raimi’s directing is still sharp and inventive. He too has a great knack for comedy, even if is sometimes overcooked. In the final analysis, the Evil Dead trilogy does something that no other trilogy has done, which is to successfully switch genres. This alone makes the trilogy a unique cinematic experience.
Ever since Army of Darkness, the big question has been: will there be an Evil Dead 4?
Fans of the films have waited eagerly for news of this, with Raimi maintaining that there was simply no way to budget a fourth film. However, after the financial successes of the Spider-Man films, Raimi has since suggested that he and brother Ivan will be at work on the script in the coming year.
In the meantime, Bruce Campbell is about to release My Name is Bruce, a mockumentary style feature in which he plays himself, idolized for his role as Ash, and beseeched to fight an undead creature.
The trailer for My Name is Bruce can be seen Here on Youtube.
Crucially, Bruce has also stated that he is ready and willing to reprise the role of Ash. And so the future for Evil Dead 4 looks promising, barring the possibilty that this is all being blown out of proportion by eager fans. Keep an eye out for updated articles as and when more news come through.
Until then, shop smart. Shop S-mart.
- Producer: Robert G. Tapert
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Screenplay: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
- Starring: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove
- Released: 1992 by Renaissance Pictures
- Running Time: 81 mins
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