Army of Darkness Blu-ray offers decent video and great audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Forced to lead a makeshift Dark Ages army against the demonic Deadites, who possess all the
deadly magic of hell, the shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed, reluctant 20th century time traveler
Ash (Campbell) must save the living from the dead, rescue his medieval girlfriend and get back
to his own time.
It's a film that would make both The Three Stooges and Clive Barker proud. An oddball yet
absolutely successful pairing of slapstick Comedy and undead Horror with a medieval setting
thrown into the mix for good measure, 1993's Army of Darkness sits proudly near the
top of the list of most unconventional yet absolutely entertaining motion pictures in history.
Following up on 1981's oft-banned The Evil Dead and 1987's The Evil Dead II: Dead by
Dawn (itself a Horror-Comedy hybrid), Army of Darkness represents the most
accessible and audience-friendly of the three. Though it lacks the hardcore gore that marked the
first two, it nevertheless retains the series' low-budget charm despite being picked up by a major
Hollywood studio for theatrical and subsequent home video releases. Each entry of the series
now bona-fide classics, it seems fans just can't get enough of the cheap special effects; gore;
humor; and of course, Bruce Campbell's over-the-top antics and protruding chin that all have
come to define the series. Hail to the king, baby.
Ash. Housewares.
Beginning with a short recap of Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness takes the now
one-handed series hero Ash (Bruce Campbell, My Name is Bruce)
into medieval times where he's deemed an enemy spy and sentenced
to death. Beating his would-be killer with the help of his "hand"-y chainsaw, Ash's heroics and
prowess with his "boomstick" convince the powers-that-be that he's the embodiment of a
long-prophesied hero that will return the ancient and all-powerful tome the "Necronomicon" to its
rightful place among the living. It's also, apparently, Ash's only hope of returning home. Ash
sets
out to retrieve the book and finds himself in one misadventure after another as he encounters
pint-sized replicas of himself and battles a full-sized clone. Reaching the Necronomicon, Ash fails
to
follow
proper procedure and unwittingly unleashes an army of darkness on mankind. Will he hang
around
to fight off the deadites with his trusty boomstick, or will he pack his bags, bid medieval times
adieu,
and go about his merry little life in the housewares section at S-Mart?
Army of Darkness is one of those films that's just about above reproach. It's so good at
being a bad movie that one must not only accept it but wholly embrace it, for there's something
absolutely magical about its zaniness. Every frame would spell trouble for a picture that, even for
a millisecond, dare take itself seriously under the pretenses set forth in the film. Every line of
dialogue, every special effect, every over-the-top performance, every rip-off from classic literature
makes the movie vulnerable to a shrug-off at best and a nasty dissection of all its miscues at
worst. Fortunately, it's plainly obvious that Army of Darkness intends to be ridiculous,
and the old wink-and-a-nod approach works to perfection. Backed by a goofy but sound plot
when taken for what it is, Army of Darkness also works because its story allows for
plenty of absurd and otherwise unbelievable antics to dominate the film. It's all meant to be
taken in stride, and the audience that understands where the film is coming from cannot help
but
have just as much fun watching it as the cast and crew obviously had in making it.
Without a doubt, the one element that really ties not only Army of Darkness but the
entire Evil Dead trilogy together is the work of Bruce
Campbell. Labeled a "B" actor, Campbell is nevertheless a master of his craft; his
uncanny
ability to mix offbeat verbal humor and zany physical mannerisms with pseudo-serious drama and
seriously twisted horror makes his effort here -- and in the previous pair of Evil Dead
films
-- extraordinary. He fully grasps the concept, taking "over the top" to an entirely new level, and
it's his ability to craft the character into the story that sells the movie above all else. Whether
fighting off the undead with a chainsaw, advising customers at S-Mart, peeling his face off a hot
stove, downing a pot full of scalding water to kill a "baddie" lodged in his gut, rearranging his
suddenly-distorted mug, or schooling a newfound love interest on the meaning of "pillow talk,"
Campbell proves a master of every situation. Combining a confident and impeccably timed verbal
effort with a masterful physical performance in each Dead film, Campbell is an actor at
the top of his game when the script seems to be scraping the bottom of the barrel, elevating
both to uncharted heights of movie magic greatness.
Army of Darkness makes its highly-anticipated Blu-ray debut with a disappointing 1080p,
1.85:1-framed transfer. The transfer appears to be the victim of noise reduction; it looks overly
processed and far too sharp, lending to it an artificial appearance rather than a pleasant, film-like
look. Grain appears sporadically but generally during effects shots or low light levels. Bright
outdoor
shots look "good" but display the most egregious of the processed appearance. The occasional
speckle of dirt also creeps up from time to time. The transfer also suffers from some overzealous
edge enhancement; distant exterior shots of the castle, for instance, are particularly aglow.
Colors look fairly bright, and detail is moderately impressive. Chain mail armor, for example, looks
thoroughly textured and nicely rendered, though it's not quite as sharp and lifelike as similar
items
worn by characters in The Chronicles of Narnia: The
Lion,
the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Braveheart. Black
levels are decent, and flesh tones never appear overly rosy. Army of Darkness doesn't
look bad
by any stretch, but there seems to be plenty of room for improvement.
Army of Darkness grooves onto Blu-ray with a strong DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack
that fares much better than the video presentation. Full, aggressive, and fun, it never lets up and
delivers an
engaging sonic experience that takes full advantage of the entire soundstage. The soundtrack
positively booms on occasion, particularly in conjunction with the thuds of Ash's "boomstick" or, at
another juncture in the film, as Ash hides in a wooden cabin as enemies attempt to beat their way
into the structure. Directional effects, too, are solid. Sound often scatters all around the
soundstage, and plenty of smaller details make their way into the mix, too. Whether clanking
bones in one scene or thunder clapping off in the distance in another, the listening area often fills
up with smaller but in no way unimportant sound effects that complete a surround sound
experience.
Also featuring solid dialogue reproduction, Army of Darkness sounds better, clearer, and
crisper on Blu-ray than it ever did on DVD.
Apparently, "Screwhead Edition" is code for "minimal supplements." Army of Darkness
does feature Universal's U-Control functionality, but it serves only to superimpose production photos
over the movie. Creating the Deadites (1080i, 21:29) takes a fascinating retrospective
look at the film's special effects with Howard Berger, Greg Nicotero, and Bob Kurtzman. Also
included is the film's alternate ending (480p, 4:42), theatrical trailer (480p, 2:03), and BD-Live
connectivity.
Odd, twisted, violent, and incredibly funny in a Three Stooges sort of way, Army of
Darkness -- and the entirety of the Raimi/Campbell Evil Dead collaboration -- makes for
an incredibly entertaining time at the movies. Though the only of the three Dead films to
be released by a major studio and given more than a shoestring budget, Army of Darkness
retains the quirkiness of its lead character and charming low-budget roots for what is arguably the
strongest entry into the series, and perhaps Bruce Campbell's finest effort. Universal's Blu-ray
release of Army of Darkness, however, comes off as something of a disappointment.
Though the disc sports a strong lossless soundtrack, it also features a watchable yet substandard
1080p image and only a few scattered extras despite the "Screwhead Edition" label. Diehard fans
will probably pick this one up (again), but more casual fans should wait until the inevitable
re-release somewhere down the line. Until then, sharp smart, shop S-Mart.
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