#721 - ARMY OF DARKNESS

#721 – ARMY OF DARKNESS

The Plot – “Ash” is sucked into a vortex into the 1300s,along with a shotgun and an Oldsmobile, and needs to get back home, and save the local village from an army of dead soliders. Actually part 3 of the EVIL DEAD series, but it could not be less important if this is your first one.

Why it’s so great – Bruce Campbell is the B Horror movie’s Kurt Russell. He’s simply immortal. One of his hands has been replaced by a chainsaw. He spouts cheesy one-liners, AND MAKES YOU LOVE IT! The 3 Stooges routines with the skeletons in the graveyard. Seeing director Sam Raimi’s crazy brilliance before everyone found out about him with SPIDER-MAN.

Holds up? – In a way. You have to know how small a budget Raimi had to work with, and then you’re more amazed what he accomplished. This isn’t supposed to be a good movie, so in that way I guess it holds up: Still Bad!

Suspension of Disbelief Index – 17 (out of 10). I can buy the vortex sending him back in time. I can buy the army of the dead and I can even buy the chainsaw for an arm. But buddy, you call a woman ugly and expect her to take you back? That’s crazy. (True, at the time he called her ugly she was possessed by dead spirits, and later they were gone, but I don’t see a woman making that distinction, do you?)

Genre Grade – Let’s call it Amusing Horror. You’re not supposed to be scared, just entertained. B+.

Sex/Violence/Nudity? – Sadly there is very little nudity and the violence is all so fake I can’t see too many people freaking out. In all honesty most high school kids would be fine to see this.

Pantheon Percentile – It ain’t Shakespeare, but I’ve seen it 23 times. At some point the sheer rewatchability and quotability have to earn some credit, n’est pas? 53.