Army Of Darkness (1992) Dir: Sam Raimi
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For those who have read my previous reviews, you'll know I was a big fan of the previous two films in the Evil Dead franchise, as well as the subsequent remakes. As such, I couldn't wait to finally get around to this third and final film in Sam Raimi's iconic horror trilogy.
Whereas the last two films had varying degrees of horror, this one foregoes the serious horror almost entirely, in favour of some absurd and hilariously ridiculous comedy. It's so tonally wacky and preposterous than the other films, but it works.
Raimi mixes the historical, fantasy, comedy and horror genres to make what can only be described as a completely wild viewing experience. I laughed so much throughout the film, mostly at the jokes, although admittedly I found the dated visuals pretty funny too. Even for the early 90s, they weren't that great - but I still loved them.
My only real issue was with the story, which, while entertaining, felt really disjointed. There were a lot of scenes that felt a little bit ham-fisted - almost like they were sandwiched into the story a bit. That said, the core narrative direction was still solid, and I really enjoyed how different it felt from the other films.
Bruce Campbell was at his entertaining best here, and had some brilliantly funny dialogue delivery. He had the perfect energy for the style of film Raimi wanted, and gave a truly memorable performance that I really enjoyed. He nailed the one liners everytime, and matched them with his excellently emotive facial expressions.
Performances from Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie and Richard Grove are all worthy of mentioning, although, none were anywhere near as memorable or noteworthy as Campbell, which is understandable, considering the significant difference in screentime.
Overall, while I definitely loved how utterly mad the film was, I would say its my least favourite of the franchise, remakes included. I think where it falls down is with its story cohesion. That aside, there's a lot to enjoy here, especially with the performance of Bruce Campbell. I can definitely see myself rewatching this plenty of times in the future.
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