Army of Darkness (1992)

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

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi

Stars:

Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert

12 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 | medieval times | 

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Taglines:

Foretold by a mystical book. Forewarned by a wiseman. Fulfilled by a wise guy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and horror

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Raimi: [POV shot] As various missiles such as catapult loads and arrows fly through the air, we see their targets from the missile's viewpoint.

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Goofs

As Ash is being chased though the forest you can see the tip of the cameraman's shoe as he runs with the Steadicam.

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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

In the theatrical version Merlin (Wiseman) tells Ash to drink the potion and say the words in order to get back to his own time. In the director's cut he tells him to drink six drops, (one drop for each century) this leads to the "downer" ending.

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Connections

Referenced in c/o Segemyhr: Episode #4.3 (2003)

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Soundtracks

Little Goody Two Shoes
(uncredited)
Written by Sam Raimi
Performed by Bruce Campbell

User Reviews

One of the Most Entertaining Cult-Movies

Ash (Bruce Campbell) is transported with his car to 1,300 A.D., where he is captured by Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert) and turned slave with Duke Henry the Red (Richard Grove) 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 (Ian Abercrombie) 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.

"Army of Darkness" is one of my favorite cult-movies and one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Bruce Campbell, who is one of the best actors of B-movies with Jeffrey Combs, has a fantastic performance and is hilarious. I do not know how many times I have seen this film, but today I have watched it in an excellent DVD released by the Brazilian Distributor Cult Classic, with alternative ending and four deleted scenes. The phrase that Ash is supposed to say is a tribute to the 1951 masterpiece "The Day the Earth Stood Still". My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Noite Alucinante 3" ("One Hallucinating Night 3")

Note: On 24 July 2016, I saw this film again.

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:

$4,424,535, 21 February 1993

Gross USA:

$11,502,976

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,502,976

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Renaissance Pictures, Introvision International

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