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Army of Darkness
(**1/2)
Of the three, Army of Darkness is the least of them. If I had to make a comparison, I would compare Sam Raimi to Kevin Smith. Clerks would equate to Evil Dead, Chasing Amy would relate to Evil Dead 2, and Mallrats would equate to Army of Darkness.
OK, so there's some holes in my analogy. Sue me. As in the previous two movies, humor is an ever-present factor in the face of horror. The problem is, the horror's not all that present. It seems like Raimi took a good theme and toned it down. This is what happens when you get a Hollywood studio riding on you. Now do you see why I'm calling this Raimi's Mallrats?
The story starts where Evil Dead 2 left off. I do hope you're reading these reviews in order, Dear Reader, or else you're going to get some spoilers here.
The end of Evil Dead 2 had Ashe and his car being pulled into the year 1300, and surrounded by knights. Army of Darkness picks up there, and Ashe (Campbell) is taken captive by a group of knights. Brought to their castle, he and the other captives are thrown into a pit filled with the same "Deadites" Ashe has been fighting all along. With the help of a wise man who's prophesized that Ashe is the same guy from the Necronomicon, Ashe wipes out some baddies and gains the trust of a local village beauty (Davidtz).
Ashe here is different than Ashe from before. In a more horror bound environment, Ashe was a fairly dim guy just doing what he had to so he could stay alive. Here, Ashe is more a dim witted clown. He's shallow and callous, and he just wants to go home. Therefore, he accepts the wiseman's challenge to go to the cemetary and collect the Necronomicon.
His journey to the cemetary makes the whole movie worthwhile. Now that Ashe is superstitious of mirrors (see Evil Dead 2), Ashe quickly breaks the mirror in a windmill house, and a series of small clones attack him. Soon a replica pops out of his body (yes, *out* of his body), and it becomes our chief villian.
I think I've given Army of Darkness an overall negative review. But it is not a bad movie. Rather, it's a misguided effort. Comedy, while it is an integral part of what made Evil Dead 2 so great, is what ruined Army of Darkness for greatness. Rather than blend the horror and comedy, the choice was made to get rid of horror almost entirely this time around. However, it is one hilarious movie.