When it comes to movies, some are great and some are bad. But their quality doesn’t matter when it comes down to the question that matters the most in movie watching: how quotable is it? Of all the movies in the world that I would consider almost wholly quotable, Army of Darkness ranks right up there with classics such as The Princess Bride (“Inconceivable!”) and really anything by Monty Python (“Take the myrrh!”). In fact, this designation has also moved Army of Darkness into a category wherein my friends will no longer watch it with me because I keep saying the lines out loud mere moments before the actual characters deliver the line. So I watch this alone, my punishment for enjoying good, classic horror.

For the newly initiated, Army of Darkness is the third installment of the Evil Dead series, which follows the story of Ash, a guy who works at a retail chain (“Shop smart! Shop S-Mart!”) and goes to a cabin in the woods with a group of friends. There, they stumble upon an ancient book, bound in flesh, called the Necronomicon. Anyone who has ever watched a horror movie about friends in a cabin knows what happens next: they get taken out, one by one, until the protagonist fights off the evil forces. (The Evil Dead series is a little different from the general horror run, however, in that the first two movies are essentially the same movie, except that the second is funnier.) At the end of Evil Dead 2, Ash is sucked into a vortex by the Necronomicon, which is where we begin at Army of Darkness.

Ash has been sent into another dimension, and was captured by a medieval lord around 1300AD. Confused about where Ash comes from, the townsfolk send him to “the pit” where he is confronted with a Deadite: a zombie possessed by the Necronomicon. He defeats the deadite and uses his ubiquitous shotgun to make the town see things his way. (“See this? This is my boomstick!”) To get back to his time and place, he needs to retrieve the Necronomicon and bring it to the… I don’t know… wizened old men who think they know what to do. At first, he doesn’t want to, but he is convinced to set off.

After being chased by the evil in the forest, he escapes into a cabin. However, the evil that is after the Necronomicon gets in and creates and alternate/evil Ash and the two Ashes fight. Good Ash wins (“Good, bad, I’m the guy with the gun!”) and dismembers and buries Bad Ash, who turns into a Deadite and creates his own Army of Darkness with skeletons. Meanwhile, Ash has obtained the Necronomicon, although he forgets the right words and brings Evil with him. The Deadites kidnap his new girlfriend Sheila and Bad Ash makes her his Deadite Queen. Ash trains the townspeople to defend themselves against the dead, and they go to war as Bad Ash brings his army against them.

In a large battle, the Deadites fight and invade the castle. Ash has re-invented gunpowder and uses modern weaponry to fight. However, the town is overrun, but is then rescued by a rival town. The two Ashes fight again as Good Ash tries to protect the book. Finally, Ash blows his evil twin up and rescues the Necronomicon, as well as Sheila. He is sent back by the Old Men and says goodbye to everyone. He ends up back at S-Mart telling his story to someone, as the Deadites return and he defends the store against them.

There are some great Sam Raimi classics in this movie (if you like idiosyncratic director moments), such as the car used is one you can find in many films. Additionally, the term “get some” in all its possible variations is used in other movies like Drag Me to Hell. But what I really like is how funny this movie is, and it is uniquely funny in a way Raimi does best. This is classic dumb humor the way it is supposed to be, and Raimi was always good at balancing the gross with the stupid and the funny to make a perfect mix. For example, when Ash and Sheila first get together, he is a real jerk. And then in a scene that appears right out of a novel with the bodice and the blowing wind and hero, Ash says, “Give me some sugar, baby.” [We love that quote! – Ed.] Which is so stupid and funny and works perfectly for Bruce Campbell and the way he delivers lines.

In terms of things I don’t like, it’s hard to say. This is not a great movie, and I am sure just on its merits that it could qualify for Razzie status on a few things. So, perhaps anyone going to see this movie would think it was awful, with special effects that were bad even for its time. But, if we focus on its ability to be watched and enjoyed thoroughly over and over again, then there is little bad to this movie. What is the point of watching a truly high quality film such as Requiem for a Dream, which I will never choose to see again over something that I can quote and understand and laugh at? This movie is the equivalent of hot soup on a rainy night in your pajamas on a comfy sofa. It’s comfort, because anyone can watch and relate to what’s going on. And, of course, have a million quotes afterward.


  -- Sara Paige

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