Army of Darkness (1993)

NEUTRAL

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85%

1992, Fantasy/Adventure, 1h 21m

RT Critics’ Score: 73% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: 12 wins & 7 nominations

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Critics Consensus

Army of Darkness is a madcap adventure worth taking thanks to Bruce Campbell’s hammy charm and Sam Raimi’s acrobatic direction, although an intentional lack of shocks make this a discordant capper to the Evil Dead franchise

Audience Consensus

Army of Darkness is like a wild ride through a haunted amusement park, with Bruce Campbell as your fearless guide. Sure, the story might be a bit perfunctory and the climactic battle lacking in thrills, but who cares when you’re having this much fun? It’s like Indiana Jones meets Sinbad meets a chainsaw hand. And let’s not forget the hilarious one-liners and the Ray Harryhausen-inspired adventure. Only a primitive screwhead wouldn’t enjoy this cult classic.

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.

Production Company(ies)
Perfect Day Films,

Distributor
Universal Pictures

Release Type
Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park – 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and horror

Year of Release
1993

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

Dolby SR
Aspect ratio:

1.85 : 1
Runtime:

1h 21m
Language(s):

English
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Feb 19, 1992 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 7, 2010

Genre(s)
Fantasy/Adventure

Keyword(s)
starring Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove, Michael Earl Reid, directed by Sam Raimi, written by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, Fantasy, Adventure, Horror, Comedy, R rating, box office gross $10.5M, produced by Rob Tapert, reviewed by Owen Gleiberman, Nick Schager, Jonathan Rosenbaum, James Berardinelli, Marc Savlov, Roger Ebert, Maddy Myers, Mike Massie, David Nusair, Matt Brunson, Austin Trunick, starring Bruce Campbell as Ash, Evil Dead franchise, Necronomicon, medieval times, army of the dead, book of evil, Dolby A, Dolby SR, Surround, Dolby Stereo, Universal Pictures, Flat (1.85:1) aspect ratio, Evil Dead trilogy, an American Werewolf in London, The Fly, They Live, The Thing, Ray Harryhausen, Clash of the Titans, Sinbad, Gulliver’s Travels

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $11,505,128
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $23,899,087
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,643
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,606,225

US/Canada gross: $11,502,976
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $23,894,617
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,351
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,424,535
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $9,190,888
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 981

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $11,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $22,849,807
Production budget ranking: 1,300
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $12,304,621
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$11,255,341
ROI to date (est.): -32%
ROI ranking: 1,572

Cast & Crew

Bruce Campbell

Embeth Davidtz

Marcus Gilbert

Ian Abercrombie

Richard Grove

Ash

Sheila

Arthur

Wiseman Joe

Duke Henry

Bruce Campbell – Ash
Embeth Davidtz – Sheila
Marcus Gilbert – Arthur
Ian Abercrombie – Wiseman Joe
Richard Grove – Duke Henry
Michael Earl Reid – Gold Tooth

Sam Raimi

Rob Tapert

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Sam Raimi

Writer(s)
Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi

Producer(s)
Rob Tapert

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
12 wins & 7 nominations

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Owen Gleiberman

Nick Schager

Jonathan Rosenbaum

James Berardinelli

Marc Savlov

Entertainment Weekly

Lessons of Darkness

Chicago Reader

ReelViews

Austin Chronicle

ARMY OF DARKNESS
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (13)
September 7, 2011 | Rating: C+

Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Army of Darkness’ story is so perfunctory and lame that there’s nothing to tether its bits and pieces of loopy madness.

January 20, 2011 | Rating: C+

Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
This is old-fashioned fun until the climactic battle, which almost comes across like routine bone piling after all the flights of fancy.

May 29, 2009

Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4

James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2/5

Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The movie isn’t as funny or entertaining as Evil Dead II, however, maybe because the comic approach seems recycled.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2/4

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
The movie’s insistence on pushing horror to the side in favor of sheer goofiness was a risk, though, and perhaps that’s why Army of Darkness is more of a cult classic.

October 22, 2021

Maddy Myers
Polygon
Hilarious and unexpectedly adventurous, this horror/comedy is like Indiana Jones meets Sinbad in the three worlds of Gulliver.

September 9, 2020 | Rating: 8/10

Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The climactic battle between the living and the dead that closes the picture is well done yet disappointingly lacking in thrills…

August 11, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/4

David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Only a primitive screwhead would find zero entertainment value in the third Evil Dead movie.

November 4, 2015 | Rating: 3/4

Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
More than anything, Army of Darkness is a tribute to the Ray Harryhausen adventure epics (Clash of the Titans, Sinbad, and the like) that Sam Raimi grew up loving.

November 4, 2015 | Rating: 9/10

Austin Trunick
Under the Radar
Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness delivers a great conclusion to what is one of the most unique trilogies in cinema history, providing a ton of laughs and plenty of exciting action in the process.

October 26, 2015 | Rating: 4/5

Jeff Beck
The Blu Spot…

Plot
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.

Trivia