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:

1 Man, 1 Million dead, The odds are just about even.

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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: [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

After Ash shoots Arthur's sword, you can see something on the side of the broken sword that faces Arthur's surprised face. It could have been the device that blew the sword apart, or something attached to the back of the sword that had to do with it being broken for the shot.

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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

Polish VHS version is as long as the theatrical version, but it has some of the alternate scenes taken from the Director's Cut. The ending where the wise man tells Ash to drink six drops of the potion. Ash says "I ain't that good" to the evil Ash. and the scene where evil Ash rips Sheila's dress

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Connections

Referenced in The Mummy (1999)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

This has to be one of the funniest movies of all time.

Well, at least I found it to be hilarious. I really did get into the Evil Dead series, it was so silly how it even started. I just happened to have a Blockbuster gift card and bought a pre-viewed "Evil Dead" and my mom had watched it with me. Strange, right? Well, because of her, I got to see one of the best movie trilogies of all time. Not to mention I couldn't believe the fan base these movies have. So it's good to know that I'm not alone.

Army of Darkness starts where Evil Dead 2 left off. Ashley has now gone back in time to the mid-evil times where he has to find a way back to his time. But the people he has met through this time think that he is the one who will save them all from the evil dead. They promise to help him find a way back if he saves them. Along that journey, he meets a beautiful peasant girl, Sheila, and they have a romantic affair. Along his journey to save the people, he must retrieve the "Book of the Dead", but when he slurs the words and does a half assed job of it, the book rises an evil twin of Ash's and leads his Army of Darkness to destroy the village Ash has promised to save.

This movie has great laughs and is a great end to this terrific trilogy. You won't regret seeing it, trust me.

10/10

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