Monday, April 11, 2011

Movie of the Week - Army of Darkness

This week’s movie is Army of Darkness (1992).

The horror/comedy is the third film in The Evil Dead trilogy. Ash accidentally sends himself to 1300 A.D., where he finds that he must fight against an army of the dead and quest to retrieve the Necronomicon (the book of the dead) so he can return home. The film is directed by Sam Raimi (who did the whole series) and features a script by Raimi and his brother Ivan (they also co-wrote Darkman, Spider-Man 3 and Drag Me to Hell), a score from Joseph LoDuca (who scores a lot of Raimi and producing partner Robert Tapert’s TV stuff, like Legend of the Seeker), a musical theme from Danny Elfman, cinematography from Bill Pope (who went on to shoot The Matrix, Spider-Man 2 and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and production design from Anthony Tremblay. The film stars Bruce Campbell, who hams it up for the camera (but in a good and funny way). Embeth Davidtz features in a supporting role, and Bridget Fonda makes a cameo appearance (originally she was to have more screen time). What makes the film great is how funny it is – Bruce Campbell is a riot, and the cheesy lines are endlessly quotable. The film is very campy, and Raimi’s style is exaggerated for effect at times. But, it makes for a great experience for fans of the series, Campbell and Raimi. It is not a scary as the previous two films in the series, but it is maybe the funniest (Evil Dead 2 is really funny too). It also makes for a good adventure fantasy film for fans of similar films from the 80s, as there is certainly an apparent love of those films by the filmmakers. If you love the first two films, you must see this (and probably already have). If you have not seen this but love campy humor B movies, this is perfect for you too. Check out the trailer.

Available on Blu-ray, DVD and to Rent

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