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Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove ... see more see more... , Michael Earl Reid , Timothy Patrick Quill , Bridget Fonda , Patricia Tallman , Theodore Raimi , Deke Anderson , Andy Bale , Bill Moseley , Josh Becker , Ira Belgrade , William Lustig , David O'Malley , Ivan Raimi , Bernard Rose , Ron Zwang , Don Campbell

The third in director Sam Raimi's stylish, comic book-like horror trilogy that began with The Evil Dead (1982), this tongue-in-cheek sequel offers equal parts sword-and-sorcery-style action, gore, and... read more read more... comedy. Bruce Campbell returns as the one-armed Ash, now a supermarket employee ("Shop Smart...Shop S-Mart") who is transported by the powers of a mysterious book back in time with his Oldsmobile '88 to the 14th century medieval era. Armed only with a shotgun, his high school chemistry textbook, and a chainsaw that mounts where his missing appendage once resided, the square-jawed, brutally competent Ash quickly establishes himself as a besieged kingdom's best hope against an "army of darkness" currently plaguing the land. Since the skeleton warriors have been resurrected with the aid of the Necronomicon (the same tome that can send Ash back to his own time) he agrees to face the enemy in battle. Ash also finds romance of a sort along the way with a beautiful damsel in distress, Sheila (Embeth Davidtz), and contends with his own doppelganger after mangling an important incantation. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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85% liked it

193,675 ratings

Critics

70% liked it

40 critics

R, 1 hr. 21 min.

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Release Date: February 19, 1993

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DVD Release Date: August 6, 2002

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Stats: 13,519 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (13,519)

  • JonathanHutchings
    January 14, 2012
    JonathanHutchings
    It definitely smacks of a "third installment plot idea," and Evil Dead fans are generally quick to dismiss it (in large part because Raimi tones down the horror in favor of the slapstick), but as a send up to the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges, Army of Darkness works and Rai... read moremi is in complete control at all times. By the way, is there a better POV director around? It's amazing what the man can do with the camera.
  • aSpaceCowboy
    November 18, 2011
    aSpaceCowboy
    Even for a B-movie, it's bad. so whimsical and outrageous that its stupid and unfunny.

    I did not like Army of Darkness at all. I loved the first two Evil Dead movies....loved the few characters it had and how much could happen in a small cabin...the 3rd was just sillines... read mores drawn from cheap slapstick humor that did not work as part of a? horror trilogy.
  • fb100002384654145
    November 1, 2011
    fb100002384654145
    Although some may be disappointed that the film is the more leaned towards comedy than the previous two, Army of Darkness still delivers another dose of wildly non-sensical fun. Bruce Campbell delivers insanely quotable one-liner after another. Raimi walks the fine line between... read more tongue-in-cheek and parody, and he succeeds with flying colors.
  • fb733768972
    October 27, 2011
    fb733768972
    "Army of Darkness" is technically a movie on it's own, but it has the feel of a threequel as the first 10 minutes of the film reflects the end of the second, which was already a bizarre conclusion. They have begun to milk the series by now, but they have done a damn good job of i... read moret. Most of the time you will find yourself laughing at how much hollywood cheese is in it, but that only adds to the epic-ness that the end of the movie holds. The movie definitely shows a balance of freshness and complete rehashing of the first two, but overall, "Army of Darkness" is a welcome addition to the series. Bruce Campbell delivers his hilariously awesome one liners, the believability is brought to a knew low (which is great), the shots are far more superior and not as "stretchy" as some of the older ways, and the final battle is new heights to action that this trilogy has never seen before. Still, it's not as fresh "The Evil Dead" films, but as a movie on it's own, it is awesome!
  • ajv2688
    May 18, 2011
    ajv2688
    I couldn't understand all the people who said this was the best of the Evil Dead Trilogy. I think it's the worst, it's not even a horror movie, it's just a plain comedy with a bunch of gross stuff added to make it look like it should fit with the rest of the trilogy. It's ridic... read moreulous, goofy, and stupid for the most part. Sometimes I kinda liked that about it, but for the most part, not.
  • lewiskendell
    April 12, 2011
    lewiskendell
    "Honey, you got real ugly."

    I thought The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 were fantastic. Their low budgets didn't preclude them both from being some pretty entertaining horror movies in their own unique ways. Army of Darkness totally eschews all pretense of being a horror movie, and ... read moregoes solely for a campy vibe that revolves around Bruce Campbell's character, Ash. This will be right up some people's alleys, but I can't say I loved the change.

    As the movie picks up where Evil Dead 2 left off, Ash is transported back through time. The evil of the Deadites and the power of the Necronomicon still wait for him in England's Dark Ages, however, and he's unwillingly thrust into a battle to save a castle full of people from the an army of undead.

    Some people will probably welcome the shift in scope and total change in tone, but I really missed the vibe of the first two flicks. Sure, they were way over-the-top and occasionally campy/silly, but Army of Darkness is a completely different animal. I'll stick to the original two films over the silly action hijinks of Army of Darkness.
  • garyX
    September 24, 2010
    garyX
    Ash finds himself in the 14th century where he must battle an army of the dead to prevent them getting their hands on the necronomicon and laying waste to the world. Evil Dead 2 was an undeniably ridiculous film and its combination of over the top gore and humour makes it one of ... read moremy favourites. Army Of Darkness follows on directly from the end of that film (sort of...there's a little Saturday morning serial style re-writing going on!) that gives Sam Raimi the opportunity to throw some swashbuckling and Monty Python And The Holy Grail humour into the mix. Imagine A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court if the Yankee were an obnoxious, smart mouthed convenience store clerk and King Arthur's Court were full of zombies. The humour is if anything even broader this time around, as the evil minions are subjected to the kind of slapstick violence that you'd usually associate with an Itchy And Scratchy cartoon. The skeletal plot is little more than an excuse for a series of one liners and sight gags and the "horror" elements are so comic strip it has an almost family friendly feel about it; in fact the formula of a feckless coward caught up in medieval swordplay reminded me of Bob Hope in something like The Princess And The Pirate more than anything. It's a deeply silly film that doesn't take itself remotely seriously and taken as such is very entertaining but don't expect anything even vaguely challenging or thought provoking!
  • phubbs1
    August 1, 2010
    phubbs1
    This the best of the trilogy for me, its like a twisted Harryhausen monster flick haha the effects are cheesy and tacky but somehow look great. The makeup and monsters all look cool and actually kinda eerie in places. Campbell is on top form here with the wise cracks and the look... read more is just classic. Its got everything really..a cross between 'Indiana Jones', 'Mad Max', 'Conan', 'Clash of the Titans', 'He-Man', 'Princess Bride', 'Escape from NY', 'Krull', all with a delicious dark and evil twist haha a real cult with a legendary hero.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    July 21, 2010
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas"

    A man is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., where he must battle an army of the dead and retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home.

    REVIEW
    ... read morenter>
    This third installment in the cult series has a thin connection to its predecessors. Ash (Bruce Campbell) is whisked back in time to medieval days where he must locate the "Book of The Dead", the tome that originally summoned the "Evil Dead" from beneath a cabin floor. The guy is such a dope that he only remembers part of the simple incantation for summoning the creatures and sending them back to their resting place. More a Harryhausen-style fantasy flick than pure, juvenile horror, it is, nevertheless, insanely entertaining if you're prepared to run with its non-stop craziness. The climax, which involves an army of skeletons marching on a castle, is pure, old school Harryhausen and even recalled a great Al Sarrantonio novel I'd read, "Skeletons", in which skinless nasties get up out of their graves and proceed to do bulk damage to the human race. Raimi's direction is inventive and the effects are wonderful. More deliberately comical than the other two, not as gory as the second entry, but a great piece of pulp entertainment, nonetheless.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    June 9, 2010
    TheDudeLebowski65
    With Army Of Darkness, Sam Raimi decided to use his effective Horror-Comedy formula and use that for this whacked out Horror-Comedy. Army Of Darkness is one of the best sequels in the trilogy, and is quite quotable. The one liners are great, the Comedic elements will make you lau... read moregh out loud and you will have the time of your life watching this film. This is one great addition to The Evil Dead trilogy, it has strong wit, and clever one liners. The film also has a good dose of action thrown in the mix, and with that, Army Of Darkness is an achievement in Horror-Comedy that should appeal to fans of the first two films, as well as fans of Horror Comedy film. You are guaranteed a good time watching this film, Groovy!

View All Army of Darkness Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 29, 2009
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

This is old-fashioned fun until the climactic battle, which almost comes across like routine bone piling after all the flights of fancy. Full Review

Nick Schager
January 20, 2011
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Army of Darkness' story is so perfunctory and lame that there's nothing to tether its bits and pieces of loopy madness. Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic
July 6, 2010
Matthew Pejkovic, Matt's Movie Reviews

Containing less of the blood soaked insanity of the previous two instalments, Army of Darkness comes off as more of an adventure film with a horror element attached to it. Full Review

Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton
September 11, 2009
Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central

I'll probably take heat for saying so, but this flick kind of sucks. Full Review

Josh Larsen
May 28, 2009
Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm

Raimi and his camera never slow down, which is good because many of the gags don't stand up to scrutiny. Full Review

Steve Biodrowski
March 9, 2009
Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

a director, Raimi's strength lies in his manic inventiveness %u2013 which is somewhat in abeyance here, as he tries injecting some traditional plot elements into the old formula. Full Review

Christopher Smith
August 1, 2007
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Camp isn't just an undercurrent here--it's the grindhouse force that drives the movie, with Bruce Campbell clearly happy behind the wheel. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
July 23, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

Raimi approaches this scenario as if someone had given him a deep pail of Magic Markers and told him to draw the ultimate comic book. Full Review

Thomas Delapa
August 14, 2006
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly

A bloody and fairly lifeless witch's brew of medievalism, Jonathan Swift and the Three Stooges. Full Review

Bill Clark
October 28, 2005
Bill Clark, FromTheBalcony

A masterpiece of lunacy and oddball creativity.

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    • Ash (Ashley J. Williams): (as the narrator) Sure, I could have stayed in the past. I could have even been king. But in my own way, I am king.
    • Ash (Ashley J. Williams): Name's Ash. Housewares.
    • Ash (Ashley J. Williams): You ain't leadin' but two things right now: Jack and sh*t, and Jack left town.
    • Ash (Ashley J. Williams): Yo, she-b*tch. Let's go.
    • Sheila/Evil Sheila: You shall die!
    • Ash (Ashley J. Williams): (Bad Ash) Hee hee hee! I'm Bad Ash. And your Good Ash! Hee hee hee!
    • Ash (Ashley J. Williams): (shoots Bad Ash) I'm not that good.
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Army of Darkness Trivia

  • Who fought The Army of Darkness, taught at Sky High, and was in MacHale's Navy?  Answer »
  • what actor played ash in the Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army Of Darkness?  Answer »
  • Director of the "Spiderman" trilogy, "Quick and the Dead" and "Army of Darkness"  Answer »
  • What film was it when the main character, Ash played by Bruce Campbell, travelled back through time to help defeat an army of dead for a medieval town?  Answer »
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