Army of Darkness (1992)

Army of Darkness

• Sam Raimi’s final film of his trilogy was definitely a bit out there. Of course, so were the first two, but this one definitely stands out in its own special way. It’s such a big tone shift in the trilogy, in a very interesting way. Honestly, I don’t even know if I’d classify this as a horror movie, solely because of the amount of comedy and medieval feel. It felt a lot like ‘The Princess Bride’ meets ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ meets ‘Beetlejuice’. That kind of chaotic comedy with some love interests and great action scenes. I loved the setting, which was a nice change from the first two movies. Watching Ash slash a bunch of skeletons in the 1300’s was certainly an awesome experience. Putting the setting aside, the story was a little lame, and kind of followed the same path the first two did. I did lose interest a couple times, but not much. I just felt like I’d seen it before, but most of the time, it was still very original. The stop motion and practical effects were no point, again, to no one’s surprise. Not super bloody like I would’ve wanted it, but still great makeup and designs. Lastly, Bruce Campbell shines again as Ash, and this is probably his best go around as the character. That man is just the best. Overall, this movie was pretty well made, and though very corny and sometimes stupid, it’s still entertaining and a fitting end for Raimi’s iconic trilogy. I’d recommend it to most horror/comedy fans.