Hello again JPFmovie fans today we are going to take a look at another film from the 1990’s:  Army of Darkness.  This movie was the third installment of the Evil Dead franchise and stars none other than Bruce Campbell—who also was its co-producer.  Army of Darkness has become a cult classic with such lines as “this is my boom-stick” “you primitive screw-heads” “give me some sugar baby” and more.  One of the interesting things about Army of Darkness is that you don’t have to watch the first two Evil Dead films to enjoy it and feel like you are missing out something.

Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) is transported to the Middle Ages, and captured by Lord Arthur’s men, who suspect him of being an agent for Duke Henry, with whom Arthur is at war. He is enslaved along with the captured Henry, his gun and chainsaw (that takes the place of one of his hands) are confiscated, and he is taken to a castle. Ash is thrown in a pit where he kills a Deadite and regains his weapons from Arthur’s Wise Man. However, the only way that Ash can return to his time is through the magical Necronomicon Ex-Mortis.  He makes a couple of mistakes in his quest for the book which causes an all out war with the undead.  Using knowledge from textbooks in his 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 and enlisting the help of Duke Henry, Ash successfully leads the medieval soldiers to victory over the Deadites.

There are some very memorable Three Stooges-type moments, complete with sound effects (pops, zings, and so forth). There’s eye-poking, headshaking, and other slapstick standards. What makes these moments especially bizarre — and effective — is that most of the time, Larry, Curly, and Mo are represented by ghouls and animated skeletons.

Every ounce of fat has been trimmed from this production. It’s a comic book brought to life, with no time for characterization, exposition, or subplots. Army of Darkness moves with breakneck speed, but its direction is straight, so there’s little chance of anyone getting lost on the way. No matter what your opinion is of the movie, you’re unlikely to be bored. The special effects are of a hit-and-miss variety. The skeleton and creature effects are superb and look much more expensive to produce than they were.  Where else can you find this kind of theater?  Not many places I can tell you that.  Watch it!