Welcome, horror fans, to Day 19 of the 31 DAYS OF HORROR! We are back with another film in our lead up to Halloween, and today we will be reviewing the horror-comedy film...ARMY OF DARKNESS. Enjoy!
Army of Darkness, in keeping with the previous two films, continues right from where we left off, with Ash, played once more by the clearly improved Bruce Campbell, as the main character that we have grown to love thanks to the direction of Sam Raimi. Although most people I've talked to like this film, others who dislike it really hate it, mostly due to the completely different time period as Ash is dropped into the middle ages. I personally think that it's a really well done film, and keeps in line with the fact that the series gets more ridiculous with each sequel, which really is part of why I love the franchise, despite not being a massive horror fan.
I still love the classic POV camera technique used by Raimi, as he uses it so well and part of the reason I like it is because it doesn't always mean a character is going to die, which is what most people would expect. The acting in this film is significantly better than the original, but similar to the second film, although as you would expect the effects are even better too, meaning that the scares to me are more genuine as well, as the horror and comedy elements are handled better and its not so self-serious as the original.
I also love both the original and the ending that was changed, as in the original Ash was recounting his story to an employee at S-Mart, which is exactly the type of arrogance that you expect, and in the alternate ending, where Ash drinks too much of the potion to bring him back to the present and ends up with the world destroyed. Both of these sum up Ash's character greatly, as despite being comedies, I still feel that his character is well written as the normal everyday middle of the road kind of guy who just happened to be forced down the path he is on.
The one negative is that despite being a well made and strong film, there are definite plotholes, and furthermore, some of the cast is still poor. However, I feel as though I can let these off due to the nature of this franchise, as it does feel kind of purposeful from Sam Raimi at the same time, which does work most of the time, but often feels too far for the moment.
Overall, I feel as though this film is almost an equal to Evil Dead 2, and is definitely better than the original, as I love how over the top it is, and how it uses horror tropes to an even greater effect. Furthermore, I don't feel as though many movies has as many quality one liners as this film, which I love and there is nobody better to deliver them than Bruce Campbell. I also feel they are more effective in this film due to the seriousness of the people in the middle ages, which contrasts Ash's style nicely, and he is treated as a knight.
Chris's Score: 8/10
Be sure to stay tuned throughout the rest of the month! We're posting a new horror review every day all throughout October, both old and new! Check back to see what movie we'll have you covering your eyes from next!
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