Army of Darkness (1992)

A man is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., where he must battle an army of the dead and retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi

Stars:

Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert

7 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Campbell	...	Ash
Embeth Davidtz	...	Sheila
Marcus Gilbert	...	Lord Arthur
Ian Abercrombie	...	Wiseman
Richard Grove	...	Duke Henry the Red
Timothy Patrick Quill	...	Blacksmith
Michael Earl Reid	...	Gold Tooth
Bridget Fonda	...	Linda
Patricia Tallman	...	Possessed Witch
Ted Raimi	...	Cowardly Warrior / Second Supportive Villager / S-Mart Clerk (as Theodore Raimi)
Deke Anderson	...	Mini-Ash #2
Bruce Thomas	...	Mini-Ash #3
Sara Shearer	...	Old Woman
Shiva Gordon	...	Pit Deadite #1
Billy Bryan	...	Pit Bitch

Storyline

In this sequel to the Evil Dead films, a discount-store employee ("Name's Ash. Housewares.") is time-warped to a medieval castle beset by monstrous forces. Initially mistaken for an enemy, he is soon revealed as the prophecised savior who can quest for the Necronomicon, a book which can dispel the evil. Unfortunately, he screws up the magic words while collecting the tome, and releases an army of skeletons, led by his own Deadite counterpart. What follows is a thrilling, yet tongue-in-cheek battle between Ash's 20th Century tactics and the minions of darkness.

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Plot Keywords:

battle | necronomicon | car | quest | discount store | 

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Taglines:

Sound the trumpets, Raise the drawbridge, and drop the Oldsmobile

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Deadites Online - Official Fan site Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1993 (Canada)

Also Known As:

L'armée des ténèbres

Filming Locations:

Acton, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$11,501,093 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Renaissance Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 96 min (director's cut) 86 min 88 min (European)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marcus Gilbert was Ill with food poisoning when filming one of the major fight scenes.

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Goofs

The sun is rising when the reinforcements arrive, but soon after it is dark again (caused by re-editing the sequence, which was originally written differently).

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Quotes

[first lines]
[opening monologue]
Ash: My name is Ash and I am a slave. Close as I can figure, the year is thirteen hundred A.D and I'm being dragged to my death. It wasn't always like this, I had a real life, once. A job.
Ash: [now Ash is in a flashback] Umm... Hardware aisle twelve, shop smart, shop S-Mart!
Ash: [back to monologue] I had a wonderful girlfriend Linda. Together we drove to a small cabin in the mountains. It seems an archeologist had come to this remote place to translate and study his latest find...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Ash can be heard laughing over the beginning of the credits in the original ending.

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Connections

Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

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Soundtracks

March Of The Dead
Written by Danny Elfman

User Reviews

Listen you stuffy screwheads...their names are Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell and this movie is their boomstick!

The third time really is the charm, and "Army of Darkness" proves it incontrovertibly. This time, they just let the movie be what the first two movies were at heart: nice, silly, goofy, wacko, nonsensical fun. Just imagine the Three Stooges starring in a horror flick and you've got "Army of Darkness". The whole movie basically consists of Ash (Bruce Campbell) going after various evil spirits in the funniest way possible. And the quotes are some of the most hilarious quotes that you could ever imagine, probably mostly owing to how Bruce Campbell says them. Literally every scene is pure hilarity. Whether it's Ash showing his "boomstick", having trouble retrieving the book, battling mini-Ashes, or the big battle at the end, you never stop laughing yourself hoarse (I particularly liked some of the bone-related quotes). It doesn't even suffice to give this movie 10/10 stars. It deserves 100...no, a million...no, infinity out of 10 stars. Yeah, infinity out of 10 stars. Bruce Campbell not only deserves a star on the Walk of Fame, there needs to be a statue of him.

Oh, and an extra note. When I went to see "Bubba Ho-Tep" in the theater, Bruce Campbell was supposed to be there, but had to cancel. So, there was a short clip at the beginning showing him thanking us for coming, when his phone rang: "Hello...Oh, hi Sam. Listen, I'll get to you in a minute." (turns to audience) "So thanks for coming to this movie." (retrieves his phone) "Yeah, Sam?..."Evil Dead 4"?! I'll do it!"

I just wonder how they would continue the story, now that Ash battled skeletons with his "boomstick".