Why I Love ARMY OF DARKNESS

On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, a look at what makes Sam Raimi’s ARMY OF DARKNESS withstand the test of time and remain beloved for three decades.

To say that I like Sam Raimi and his movies would be a severe understatement. I love Sam Raimi and his movies because he’s the type of director that isn’t afraid to just put everything he loves up on the screen. There’s no better representation of that than his EVIL DEAD trilogy, specifically my all time favorite ARMY OF DARKNESS and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of this masterpiece than by telling you all why this film holds so much meaning to me. 

First, an introduction for those that may not know what ARMY OF DARKNESS is (and if you don’t, that’s totally fine but obviously I highly recommend checking it out). ARMY OF DARKNESS follows Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams as he is transported through time from the woods of modern day Michigan back to Medieval times to yet again battle with the forces of evil for the third…or maybe second (continuity in this franchise is a bit hazy) time.  What ensues is a madcap mashup of all the things where Sam Raimi excels: Three Stooges sight gags and jokes, kinetic and visceral action sequences, Bruce Campbell’s pitch perfect delivery of one liners, and excellent moments of horror.  With a budget of $11 million compared to the first films $375,000, Raimi was essentially given free reign to come up with anything that he and his brother/co-writer Ivan could think of and they pulled out all the stops: elaborate fight choreography, multiple visual effects, and location shooting on a scale the two previous films could have only dreamed of were just a few of the things that made this entry a step up from its predecessors in the franchise.

With the increased budget and new ideas came multiple difficulties in shooting including Bruce Campbell receiving injuries and disputes with the studio about the movie’s original, more downbeat ending. After the dust settled, reshoots occurred and battles with the MPAA were finished, the film was released…and barely broke even on its budget. Luckily, home video was a hot commodity and it managed to gain traction in the rental market, which is where I come in.

I was the ripe old age of six when I saw the smattering of TV Spots for ARMY OF DARKNESS as I flipped through the channels and I was enraptured by every one that I saw. Something about the sight of Bruce Campbell falling into a spinning vortex made me really want to see this movie (And, yes, I know that the sequence is reused footage from EVIL DEAD II now, but still). I didn’t get the chance to see it in theaters, aside from a very brief glimpse of it as I sat in the backseat of the family car as we drove past our local drive-in, but it wouldn’t be long until I finally got to lay my eyes on it and have my world forever changed. Walking into the mom & pop shop that we rented from (R.I.P. Choice Video), I walked into the area in the back where the new releases were and I spotted it, the tape was blissfully not grabbed by anyone and it was mine for the taking.

Arriving home, I immediately put the tape in and was transported to a world the likes of which I had never seen and I instantly fell in love with what I was seeing. Along with watching the movie I had the habit of recreating what I was seeing, so naturally I had to grab my cap gun and pretend I was Ash battling against the Deadite hordes and I would parrot all his classic wisecracks. There was no turning back, I was a diehard ARMY OF DARKNESS fan and full-fledged Sam Raimi fanatic.

After that initial viewing I watched the movie at least three more times before having to return it to the video store. It seemed to establish itself quickly as a film that my family thoroughly enjoyed and soon we found ourselves quoting it frequently, which we still do to this day. If I ever need to make my dad burst out laughing, all I need to do is bust out one of the many hilarious lines from this and he’ll be chuckling and quoting another one right back. That makes ARMY OF DARKNESS a perfect movie in my eyes.

As the years have gone on, ARMY OF DARKNESS has gained greater cult status, with lines of dialogue literally being stolen wholesale to be used in popular video games (looking at you, Duke Nukem) along with a wide array of comic books and crossovers including team-ups with other Sam Raimi-related properties DARKMAN and Xena: Warrior Princess—Ash even battles slasher titans Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. It’s a great underdog story.

I’ll be a loyal ARMY OF DARKNESS fan and Sam Raimi enthusiast until the day I die. This movie has been a key part of one of my longest lasting friendships, it’s made me happy when I needed a boost and it will continue to be a movie that I can put on and find new things to enjoy. As I write this, my wife and I have tickets to see ARMY OF DARKNESS and Bruce Campbell live in a few months. If that 6-year-old kid who fell in love with this movie heard that news, guaranteed he’d be smiling from ear to ear.