The Film
All right. Who wants some?
Sam Raimi must be a fun guy to hang out with. When it comes to even the creepiest of topics, he still loves to get campy. His most recent effort, Drag Me to Hell, is an excellent showpiece for the director's style. However, none is more deliciously goofy than his terror trilogy, The Evil Dead.
Yes, there will soon be a fourth Evil Dead flick, but we are currently left with Army of Darkness as the most recent entry. For those not familiar with the series, the film has a slightly distorted flashback, but it makes nice for where we're about to go. Then again, if you're not familiar, we have to wonder why you'd even bother. Does a flick about a guy that travels back to medieval times to fight the forces of the Necronomicon sound appealing to you?
Maybe not. Because like the other two
Evil Dead movies,
Army of Darkness is not very believable. It sure is fun, though -- thanks to Bruce Campbell as the film's protagonist, Ash. There's a reason that Raimi continually casts the man with the most square chin we've ever seen. Sure, they were high-school friends, but let's get one thing straight: No one else could have delivered the many one-liners in this film so well. End of story.
The Picture
Bruce Campbell makes this film a lot of fun. The image, however, does not. The film is very low budget, but apparently someone at Universal has been tweaking. The end result is that the film comes off a little too sharp in some spots, like it's a little too fake. Of course, we know that we're dealing with walking, talking, fighting skeletons and other ghouls here and they are completely entertaining either way. The problem is that it's all sort of uneven. The 1.85:1 transfer has a lot of dark, slightly grainy moments. Fleshtones are good and some of the outdoor shots fare much better, including that super-red spray of blood that flies early in the film. Basically, it's the best that you'll get out of this film. Surely, that will be more than good enough for the fans of this cult classic.
The Sound
Like the movie itself, this DTS-HD Master Audio track is a barrage of non-stop action -- and it's groovy, baby. There are chains and skeletons rattling, chainsaws, thunder, tools clanging and demons howling throughout the film, filling almost every speaker. There's plenty of booming bass as well, especially when Ash is hiding out in the cabin or when he busts out his "boomstick," which is so prominent, it should have its own spot in the credits.
The Extras
Consider yourself screwed with this "Screwhead Edition"; it has very few extras. The U-Control allows you to crowd up the screen with production images and there is an alternate ending and theatrical trailer. The only lengthy/worthy piece is "Creating the Deadites," a 21-minute featurette on the film's special effects.
Final Thoughts
Army of Darkness in a fun, frantic adventure. In other words, it's a typical Raimi horror outing. The director doesn't always need shock value to be entertaining; he just is. The Blu-ray could look better, but if you're buying this title, it probably won't matter much. As Ash would say, "Buckle up Bonehead. 'Cause you're goin' for a ride!"
Product Details
- Actors: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Bridget Fonda
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), DTS 5.1 (Spanish), Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Region: A
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: R
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: September 15, 2009
- Run Time: 81 minutes
- List Price: $29.98
- Extras:
- Creating the Deadites
- Alternate Ending
- Theatrical Trailer
- BD Live
