“Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up!” –Ash Williams from "Army of Darkness"

If forced to choose one “favorite” movie, I’d have to go back to my teenage years and discuss the movie that really got me interested in movies; the movie that made me actively seek out other films: Sam Raimi’s slapstick/fantasy/horror “Army of Darkness.”  Indeed, if pressed, I can chronologically chart my film appreciation evolution from “Army of Darkness” to Kurosawa and Bunuel (an admittedly strange and weird evolution, but there you go). “Army of Darkness”(AoD) was one of the most enjoyable movie going experiences I’ve ever had. I still watch AoD on a semi-regular basis, its goofy charms, its balls out violence and mayhem, and the awesomeness of Bruce Campbell are still fun and fresh after all these years. True, it is a silly movie, but god help me, I love "Army of Darkness." There's still that heavy metal listening, "Fangora" reading teenager inside me yet!

For those of you who don’t know, AoD is the third installment of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s  “Evil Dead” series. The Evil Dead movies told the story of Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), the college student who unwittingly unleashes a demon that turns his friends and girl friend into demon zombies. The end of Evil Dead 2 finds Ash sucked back in time to medieval England (which looks curiously like southern California, hmmm). This is where the action of AoD picks up, as Ash must ultimately attempt to retrieve the Necronomicon, (the ancient book that started the whole mess in the first movies), woo the girl, and battle with, yup, you guessed it, an army of demon skeletons!   

AoD is a grinning, farting, and slobbering Frankenstein of a movie, constructed from the rotting spare parts of old B-movie adventures, literature, and comedy: “Jason and the Argonauts” and “The Voyage of Sinbad,” “Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” and a hefty dose of “The Three Stooges.” There is also an extremely funny wink to “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (“Klatuu, barada, nikto!” seriously, remember these lines, it may save your life one day). The pace of the film is headlong and frantic; there’s always been a “let’s put on a show” spirit behind the “Evil Dead” movies, and this is no different.

The movie’s main strength, the thing that keeps the comedy fresh and funny, is the indomitable Bruce Campbell as Ash. Behold the awesomeness that is Bruce Campbell as he introduces 12^th century peasants to his “boomstick” (a shotgun)! Thrill to the swaggering kickassness of Campbell as he rattles off hilarious one-liners that Schwarzenegger and Eastwood wish they had said! Delight in the comic brilliance of Campbell as he channels all three of the Stooges at the same time! If you only know of Campbell from USA channel’s “Burn Notice” you’ve only witnessed a fraction of the coolness of Campbell.

Among my friends there is perhaps no point of disagreement greater than the contentious controversy of which is a better film: “Evil Dead 2” or “Army of Darkness?” There have been epic arguments, stomping of feet, and teeth gnashing anger over this disagreement. Consider this my declaration of allegiance to “Army of Darkness.”

Note: “Army of Darkness” is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s cartoonishly violent. The humor is basically Three Stooges level with, like I previously said, a ton of bad movie homages, and the plot is, well, don’t worry about the plot, m’kay? My wife thinks it is possibly the dumbest movie ever made. That’s exactly what she said to me: “This is the dumbest movie ever made—even dumber than “Evil Dead 2!” (I told her, “well, if you think this is dumb, there’s this movie called “‘Manos’ The Hands of Fate”…)

Another Note: there are two versions. Director’s Cut(96min) and Theatrical Cut (81min). Both are worth viewing.

One more Note (I swear!): For more Bruce Campbell awesomeness see: “Evil Dead 2,”  “Bubba Ho-Tep”(Bruce as The King!)  “Crimewave” “My Name is Bruce” and of course the TV shows “Burn Notice” and “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr”

Trailer for "Army of Darkness":