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

10 wins & 7 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 (as Theodore Raimi)
Deke Anderson	...	Mini-Ash #1
Bruce Thomas	...	Mini-Ash #2
Sara Shearer	...	Old Woman
Shiva Gordon	...	Pit Deadite #1
Billy Bryan	...	Pit Bitch

Storyline

Ash is transported with his car to 1,300 A.D., where he is captured by Lord Arthur and turned slave with Duke Henry the Red and a couple of his men. When Ash is thrown into a pit, he defeats two monsters and wins respect of Arthur's army and vassals. The Wiseman points Ash as The Chosen One that will retrieve the Necronomicon but Ash is only interested in returning home. When he learns that the only way to return to his time is using the Necronomicon, Ash decides to travel to the unholy land of the Deadites. The Wiseman advises that he must say the words "Klaatu Barada Nikto" to safely get the evil book. However, Ash forgets the last word and an army of the dead resurrects to attack Arthur fortress and recover the Necronomicon. The battle between the living and the dead is about to start and the support of Henry the Red is the only way to help Ash and Arthur to defeat the army of darkness.

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Plot Keywords:

necronomicon | evil dead | skeleton soldier | 1990s | reluctant hero | 

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Taglines:

He's a 20th century guy, trapped in the middle ages.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and horror

Details

Official Sites:

Deadites Online - Official Fan site Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Evil Dead 3

Filming Locations:

Acton, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,424,000, 21 February 1993

Gross USA:

$11,502,976

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,502,976

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Renaissance Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 96 min (director's cut) 88 min (international cut) 90 min (Television Cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby Digital (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Raimi: [fake shemp] Among the listed "fake shemps" are Don Campbell and Charlie Campbell, brother and father of Bruce Campbell respectively (as knights, although Don is also a peasant in one scene), Sol Abrams (one of the knights), Josh Becker (peasant near the pit) as well as numerous people gathered for the S-Mart ending during a re-shoot, including directors William Lustig and Bernard Rose.

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Goofs

Ash is momentarily dry after falling in the puddle before entering the windmill (the result of a cut scene).

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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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Alternate Versions

A version that was exactly like the Australia/Japan version was shown in Finland, but only with the she-demon ending.

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Connections

Referenced in Castlevania (1999)

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Soundtracks

London Bridge Is Falling Down
(uncredited)
Traditional
Performed by Bruce Campbell

User Reviews

81 minutes of pure fun!

The third--and presumably last--of the Evil Dead movies finds Ash Williams(B-movie supreme ruler Bruce Campbell in full froth)somehow transported(along with his broken down car)in Medieval England,about to do battle,once again,with the undead,with the aid of(among other things) his "boom stick" and his chainsaw. While being a strange man in a strange land,he romances plucky lass Sheila(Embeth Davitz,pre-Schindler's List) and aiding the reluctant natives(among them Ian Abercrombie,MArcus Gilbert and Richard Groce).

To me(and I suspect I am not alone on this),one of the neat things about this film is that it moves at such a rip-roaring pace that one has little time to catch their breath or even add up the absurdity of the story. But,to quote another commenter,Who cares? This offering,which pretty much eschews the original Evil Dead's Horror premise,and capitalizes on more of the crazed,feverish pacing of Evil Dead 2,seems content to offer large doses of humor mixed with raucous violence and only the thinnest character exposition. Bully for director/co-writer Sam Raimi,co-writer Ivan Raimi and company on this! This is a great "palate-cleanser" of a movie and is a solid party film(among other occasions),whether you're fans of Campbell,Raimi,berserker action films,comedies or all four.