Featured Audience Ratings

• MisterYoda ?

  
  three stars

• KJ P

  
  "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… More
  "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 it. 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!

• Everett J

  
  This is the third movie in the "Evil Dead" series, and it's the best. Picks up where the second movie ends as Ash(Bruce Campbell) as been teleported back to 14th Century Medieval times. All he has is his '88 Oldsmobile, the boom stick, and the chainsaw for a… More
  This is the third movie in the "Evil Dead" series, and it's the best. Picks up where the second movie ends as Ash(Bruce Campbell) as been teleported back to 14th Century Medieval times. All he has is his '88 Oldsmobile, the boom stick, and the chainsaw for a right hand. He helps battle the deadites and hopefully return home to his job at S-Mart("Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart"). This isn't a horror movie at all, instead it's an action/adventure/comedy hybrid that is one of the most original movies ever made. It's hysterical, has some great gags, and offers up some of the best one liners that I(along with many others) still quote to this day. Campbell is amazing and gives one of the best comedic performances ever. He has to be the most underrated actor ever. I've only ever seen the original theatrical version. When I rewatched last night I watched the Directors Cut(I have the boom stick edition dvd, and it has both versions). I gotta say, I much prefer the original. The directors cut has a completely different ending, that doesn't work for me at all, along with a couple other differences. Still a great movie, but the original theatrical cut is the one to watch. This is a must watch as it holds up so good after all these year. If you don't like it, then your dumber than f***, and probably don't have good taste in movies. Hail to the King Baby!

• Eugene B

  
  Bruce Campbell and the Raimi brothers decide to stray away from the gory-horror ambiance and took an adventurous and comedic toll. Army of Darkness (Evil Dead 3) is a hip entry in the trilogy. Although it strays away from the horror we came to know and love, it still manages to… More
  Bruce Campbell and the Raimi brothers decide to stray away from the gory-horror ambiance and took an adventurous and comedic toll. Army of Darkness (Evil Dead 3) is a hip entry in the trilogy. Although it strays away from the horror we came to know and love, it still manages to entertain and yet be suspenseful in a way only the Raimi brothers and Bruce Campbell could do. 4/5

• Eric S

  
  I think it takes a certain type of person to enjoy these types of films. I'm not one of them. It's too bizarre and not funny at all. The story isn't even good. It's just bad on every level.

• Samuel R

  
  This is Sam Raimi's conclusion to the legendary cult franchise. This time, Bruce Campbell returns with his trusty chainsaw and boomstick, to bring an end the reign of the Deadites. While the previous title was a Comical Horror, this focuses on being more of a comedy.… More
  This is Sam Raimi's conclusion to the legendary cult franchise. This time, Bruce Campbell returns with his trusty chainsaw and boomstick, to bring an end the reign of the Deadites. While the previous title was a Comical Horror, this focuses on being more of a comedy. Nevertheless, Ash is only getting started with his classic one liners. The 'Army Of Darkness' may not top the legacy created 'Evil Dead II', but this film does have its perks and deserves to be watched by Raimi, Campbell, fantasy and possibly comedy fans.

• Daniel M

  
  The number of truly great threequels can be counted on one hand. For every Last Crusade or Return of the Jedi, there's a dozen Superman III's, Mad Max 3's, or even The Never-Ending Story III's. But perhaps there is no more disappointing threequel than Evil Dead 3:… More
  The number of truly great threequels can be counted on one hand. For every Last Crusade or Return of the Jedi, there's a dozen Superman III's, Mad Max 3's, or even The Never-Ending Story III's. But perhaps there is no more disappointing threequel than Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness, Sam Raimi's overly goofy conclusion to his cult horror-comedy trilogy. Most of the good work of the first two instalments is swiftly undone, resulting in a mess of half-arsed jokes and missed opportunities. Whether by sheer bad luck or something in his nature, Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy mirrors his subsequent Spider-Man trilogy in terms of the quality of each instalment. Both The Evil Dead and Spider-Man were delivered with relatively low expectations, with Raimi not being a big name in Hollywood. The success of these films prompted a sequel with more money attached and a new-found fan following, leading Raimi to improve on and refine all the aspects of the first instalment, and thus deliver a sequel that really stood up. When it came to the third instalment in both series, Raimi was faced with a problem. With even more money and even higher expectations, he could not simply produce more of the same: he couldn't send Ash back to the cabin, any more than he could break up Peter Parker and Mary-Jane. With both Evil Dead 3 and Spider-Man 3 he uncharacteristically panicked, throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the screen in the hope that some of it would work. And as is the way with such an approach, most of what he attempted didn't work, resulting in each case with an overlong, disappointing mess. With both productions, one could point to studio interference as the reason for the films never really taking flight. Raimi's career has been dogged by studio executives meddling with his preferred cut or interfering in the creative process. They butchered his cut of Crimewave so that it made no sense, and refused to cast Bruce Campbell in the title role in Darkman. With Evil Dead 3, Raimi went into the project with the backing of Dino De Laurentiis, who intended to make the film independently and sell it to Universal as a negative pick-up. But eventually the budget increased to $12m, with Universal putting in half and handling all post-production, resulting in several scenes being reshot and the ending being completely changed. But despite the pressures on Raimi, from Universal and elsewhere, there is also a lot of evidence to suggest that Evil Dead 3 is exactly the film he that wanted to make. When interviewed for The Evil Dead Companion back in 2000, Campbell said that the main reason Raimi made Evil Dead 2 as a quasi-remake was because he hadn't quite worked out the storyline for the planned mediaeval instalment. Even withstanding the efforts of Universal to cut the film to a PG-13 rather than an R, there is a conscious effort on the part of Raimi to tone down the horror elements from the first two films to appeal to a younger audience. The first two films worked so well because Raimi's love of goofy slapstick comedy, and specifically The Three Stooges, was balanced perfectly by the shocking, demented horror being shown on screen. There was never any doubt that the films were not meant to be taken seriously, but there was a feeling that the horror elements served as an important counterweight to prevent the goofiness from being overemphasised. In Evil Dead 3, Raimi's comedy influences are far more unrestrained and ill-disciplined, with the jokes failing to coalesce around any kind of concrete narrative. The story of Evil Dead 3 is all over the place, in whichever version you see. There is the basic plot of Ash being stranded in the year 1300 and desperately trying to get home, but the story keeps getting distracted or slowed up by the set-pieces, some of which work and some of which really drag out. The whole sequence in the windmill, culminating in Ash literally splitting into Bad Ash and Good Ash, feels like passingly humorous padding to prevent him getting to the Necronomicon sooner and to get the film to around 90 minutes. Even when Bad Ash re-emerges in the third act to command the Army of Darkness, the windmill scene feels unnecessary because Raimi could have introduced the character later in the film without losing any impact or momentum. You can understand Raimi wanting to bring in other influences to prevent the film from re-treading old ground from the first two instalments. But none of the ideas or story arcs he introduces are developed adequately enough or taken to their natural conclusions. The majority of jokes or references to classic literature feel like they have been dropped in to make the film feel like a narrative departure, resulting in less of a narrative departure than a departure from narrative. The basic plot of Evil Dead 3 is a very good example of this. The story is rooted in Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, with its familiar aspects of a main character coming into a different time, struggling to fit in and eventually becoming something of a hero. But with the exception of some of the dialogue between Ash and his mediaeval girlfriend, there is little effort made to work the fish-out-of-water story, let alone do something original with it. The plot squanders several points of great potential, reducing the concept of introducing 20th-chemistry to wizards to a couple of brief gags in the last 10 minutes. The unveiling of a steam-powered car (which looks like a Mad Max knock-off) is just waved on through and allowed to run its course like it was any other joke. With the battle sequences, Raimi wanted to pay homage to the great Ray Harryhausen, who designed the stop-motion monsters for the likes of Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts, which also features a skeleton army. We get a fair amount of cartoon slapstick, involving Campbell's face being stretched using latex rubber, but unlike Harryhausen's monsters there is no real sense of threat being generated from any of the jokes. When the books attack Ash, by sucking him through a tunnel or biting his fingers, it feels like a harmless practical joke that has wandered into what should be a really spooky scene. Then there is the question of Raimi's direction. There are less handheld or steadicam shots in the film, with the majority of the final battle being done in a combination of wide-angle crane shots and close-ups for the gags. Because Evil Dead 3 has more locations and characters, this is to some extent necessary, and it does feel like a more professional production than the other two. But what we gain in a smooth operator, we lose in the ability of the film to concentrate its energy, and it ends up flannelling in several directions at once. The biggest problem with Evil Dead 3 is that it doesn't feel entirely self-confident, either in its story or its shift towards a more goofy tone. Rather than behaving like its predecessor, settling on a given scenario and allowing the humour to escalate, it keeps jumping between different locations and set-pieces as if it doesn't know where the next laugh is coming from. If The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are like laser-guided missiles, Evil Dead 3 is like a cluster bomb: it may hit some of the target, but a lot of unwanted damage is caused along the way. On top of all that, there are little inconsistencies and contrivances within the plot which take some of the energy out of the film. There are basic continuity errors, as Ash's shotgun keeps disappearing and reappearing without explanation. Having the science books in the back of Ash's Oldsmobile is a huge deus ex machina which will try one's patience even if you attempt to laugh it off. The film comes unstuck even when it treads close to the previous instalments, such as the creation of Ash's new hand. We didn't bat an eyelid when he just shoved a chainsaw on the end, but when you introduce technology that wouldn't look out of place in Star Wars, it merits a little explanation. Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness is a massive let-down, with very few of the jokes hitting their mark and neither of the endings making much sense. It's not an outright failure, containing moments of promise and another reliably good performance by Bruce Campbell. But it falls far short of the standards set by its predecessors and fails in its own right as a piece of fantasy slapstick. It's the cinematic equivalent of wheel-spin: lots of energy, smoke and noise, but no real movement or direction.

• Jonathan H

  
  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… More
  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 Raimi 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.

• John H

  
  Even for a B-movie, it's bad. so whimsical and outrageous that its stupid and unfunny.<br/><br/>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… More
  Even for a B-movie, it's bad. so whimsical and outrageous that its stupid and unfunny.<br/><br/>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 silliness drawn from cheap slapstick humor that did not work as part of a? horror trilogy.

• Christopher H

  
  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… More
  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 tongue-in-cheek and parody, and he succeeds with flying colors.

• AJ V

  
  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… More
  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 ridiculous, goofy, and stupid for the most part. Sometimes I kinda liked that about it, but for the most part, not.

• Lewis C

  
  "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… More
  "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 goes 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.

• xGary X

  
  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 my… More
  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 my 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!

• Phil H

  
  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 is… More
  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 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.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas"</i> 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. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas"</i> 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. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> 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.

• Jeff "

  
  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 laugh… More
  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 laugh 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!

• Dean M

  
  This is one of the best <i>Evil Dead</i> series with mixed genres - comedy, action, fantasy and horror - from the start to end. This is a great re-telling of sorts of <i>Jason and the Argonauts</i> story, only with a little more schlock, however in some… More
  This is one of the best <i>Evil Dead</i> series with mixed genres - comedy, action, fantasy and horror - from the start to end. This is a great re-telling of sorts of <i>Jason and the Argonauts</i> story, only with a little more schlock, however in some scenes, like the skeletons giving Ash (played by Bruce Campbell) "Three Stooges" treatment, there is a little too much schlock. Don't get me wrong though, the film is funny and does have some great one-liners, such as Ash introducing his sawed off shotgun as his "boomstick", and calling some of the men "primitive screw-heads". The effects are great, and the direction is superb, especially scenes of the <i>Army of Darkness</i> riding horseback and attacking the castle. Also this film has an enormous amount of quotable lines. Bruce Campbell is THE MAN! The way he says stuff is just great!

• Lenny M

  
  Not my kind of movie but entertaining nevertheless.

• Megan S

  
  Definitely my favorite movie of the Evil Dead trilogy.

• Wahida K

  
  Sick sense of Humor of if your prefer Dark sense of Humor. Not exaclty Horror. Brilliant.

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