Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Army of Darkness Blu-ray Movie Review

Resistance is feudal.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 24, 2015

Fans will of course know this little nugget, but for the uninitiated, according to the often hilarious commentary that’s included on the Director’s Cut of the new Shout! Factory release of Army of Darkness, if Sam Raimi had had his way, this follow up to The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn would have been titled (wait for it) — The Medieval Dead. That perhaps groan worthy pun is nevertheless a near perfect indicator not just of this third film’s setting, but perhaps more importantly of Raimi’s own insouciant approach toward this often silly and flat out goofy trilogy. Both of the first two Evil Dead films told at least somewhat the same story, with hero Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) encountering a bit of mayhem in The Cabin in the Woods (so to speak), with a horde of nasty ghouls unleashed through some infelicitous recitations from the Necronomicon. Army of Darkness picks up where Evil Dead 2 left off, with Ash unceremoniously dumped into the Middle Ages, and left to deal not just with a kind of Walking Dead infestation of monsters called Deadites, but with a coterie of knights and one very special lady who are understandably a bit confused to see a guy who claims to be from the future tooling around with a chainsaw in the place of one hand and a shotgun at the ready in the other. Army of Darkness continues the lunatic proclivities of the first two Evil Dead films, and in fact probably takes them to even more extreme levels of wackiness, with a number of bonkers set pieces that reference everything from the iconic work of Ray Harryhausen to Gulliver's Travels to The Three Stooges.

In the same aforementioned commentary, Raimi and Campbell also address a central element of Army of Darkness, an aspect that perhaps undercuts some of this film’s tone. As the director and star mention in passing several times, Ash is, to put it as gingerly as possible, kind of a screw up, but Army of Darkness wants to have its cake and eat it, too, in that regard, positing Ash as both a fool and a hero. Ash, to put it in the perfectly appropriate milieu of a Looney Tunes cartoon (considering the general ambience of the film, which is often quite Chuck Jones-esque), Ash thinks he’s the Road Runner, but he’s really Wile E. Coyote. That makes for some uneasy transitions as Ash, stuck in some unspecified feudal realm, serves as both the brunt of various indignities while also acting as a kind of Middle Ages James Bond, wooing the initially resistant Sheila (Embeth Davidtz) while also utilizing various “high tech” gizmos (like his chainsaw hand) to aid in his war against the Deadites.

Of course with a film as gonzo as Army of Darkness, any attempts to wring actual logic out of the proceedings are probably useless. The film is just a riot of schtick and other physical humor, laced with occasional verbal barbs that make great use of Campbell’s arch delivery style. What makes Army of Darkness work, where by all accounts it really shouldn’t, is the obvious lack of pretension that Raimi and Campbell bring to the enterprise. As evidenced not just by their work in the film itself, but their bickering, bantering commentary included on the Director’s Cut in this set, the two were only too aware they were making a live action cartoon, a big, goofy and irreverent “horror” film that is never afraid of laughing at itself, thereby making it all the funnier for the audience.

Note: For more information on Army of Darkness’ dopey plot, see my colleague Martin Liebman’s Army of Darkness Blu-ray review of the Universal Screwhead Edition.

Army of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Army of Darkness is presented on Blu-ray by Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with AVC encoded 1080p transfers on all three of the "major" cuts included on this release (the television version is offered in not very great looking upscaled 1080i). For those who were less than pleased with the problematic Screwhead Edition from Universal, most if not quite all of the issues with that version have been addressed on this new release, but there is at least one new anomaly on one of the versions in this set which Shout! has commendably been quick to address. That (admittedly) small glitch occurs at circa 28:00 in the Theatrical Version, where a second or two of footage of Ash jumping over a small stone wall is missing, between Ash tumbling down a hill and a wide shot of him running panicked toward a windmill, leading to a very brief audio sync issue. Shout! has already announced that replacement discs alleviating this issue will be in the pipeline and delivered to consumers in November. (You can see the missing snippet at circa 29:53 in the Director's Cut and at circa 30:05 in the International Cut.) With that pesky irritant out of the way, how does video quality fare otherwise? Mostly excellently, it turns out, though there are some fluctuations both between the various versions and even within them at times. The International Cut has reportedly been sourced from a new 4K scan of the IP, and this version offers what is probably the most consistently organic looking of the set, with a nicely controlled grain field and good reproduction of the palette. There are still occasional issues with crush in dark scenes, and certain sequences like Ash's feast after his initial showdown over "the pit", look noticeably softer and grainier than the bulk of the presentation (as in fact this same sequence does in all the versions).

While Shout's press materials don't actually mention this, it's been proffered that the Theatrical Version of the film also utilizes the sections from the International Cut it shares culled from the 4K source, interspersed with the more problematic moments that were supposedly sourced from the original (problematic) Universal release. One way or the other, grain is more variable in the Theatrical Version, with opticals showing some (understandably) pretty chunky and yellowish textures. As with all the versions, sharpness is somewhat variable at times, too, again easily noticeable in such sequences as the feast after the initial pit scene. The harsh digital appearance of the Screwhead Edition is thankfully largely absent here (minus occasional ringing), and the color timing is also more natural and less yellow looking. The Director's Cut appears to have slightly lower contrast than its siblings, but overall the image retains a healthy patina, with generally excellent grain resolution (again, a slight tendency toward yellow splotchiness arises in the many opticals in the film).

Note: Screenshots 1-20 are from the Theatrical Version, screenshots 21-25 are from the Director's Cut and screenshots 26-30 are from the International Cut. I tried to provide several approximations of the screenshots included in Martin Liebman's review of the previous Universal Blu-ray, as well as providing at least an example or two of the same moment from all three versions.

Army of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All three films in this Collector's Edition of Army of Darkness sport DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The surround tracks exploit a lot of immersion in the wacky effects sequences, where the cartoonish ambience becomes even more exaggerated courtesy of the often ridiculous (and quite funny) sound effects. There are occasional boxy sounding moments, like in the Gulliver's Travels sequence where Ash is attacked by all the mini-Ashes. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly on all three films, and is always well prioritized. Dynamic range is also very wide on all three versions.

Army of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One:

• Theatrical Version (1080p; 1:20:47) with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or 2.0 audio.


• Medieval Times: The Making of Army of Darkness (1080p; 1:36:35) is a typically excellent Red Shirt production that covers a wealth of material, and which includes fun vintage footage as well as contemporary interviews with several people, including Bruce Campbell.


• Original Ending (1080i; 4:37). You can see this looking considerably better on the Director's Cut included on Disc Two.


• Alternate Opening (1080i; 2:58) features an optional commentary by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell


• Deleted Scenes (1080i; 11:06) also offer optional commentary by Raimi and Campbell.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 2:05)


• TV Spots (1080p; 1:56)


• U.S. Video Promo (1080p; 00:32)

Disc Two:

• Director's Cut (1080p; 1:36:23) with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or 2.0 audio.


• Director's Cut Audio Commentary with Director Sam Raimi, Actor Bruce Campbell and Ivan Raimi is a really fun piece that consists of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell by themselves for quite a while, with a good deal of bantering going on, before Ivan steps in sometime later to join them. For the proofreaders in the audience, there's an errant "of" included in the title of this supplement on the menu.


• On Set Video Footage Compilation (1080p; 4:40)


• Creating the Deadites Featurette (1080i; 21:29) is another great piece that includes more archival footage as well as contemporary interview segments.


• Behind the Scenes Footage from KNB Effects (1080p; 53:54) is an interesting assemblage of archival material.


• Vintage "Making Of" Featurette (1080p; 4:51)


• Extended Interview Clips (1080p; 5:02)

Disc Three:

• International Cut (1080p; 1:28:48) with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or 2.0 audio.


• Television Version (1080i; 1:33:03) is not going to win any awards for picture quality.


• International Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:08)


• Still Galleries with Rare Behind the Scenes Photos (1080p; 28:16)


• Still Gallery of Props and Rare Photos (1080p; 4:05)


• Storyboards (1080p; 7:37) includes some info about proposed longer sequences.


• The Men Behind the Army (1080i; 18:58) is a vintage piece that looks at some of the VFX and prop fabrication.


• Special Thanks (1080p; 00:50) doles out appreciation for those who helped with the release.

Army of Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

You pretty much just have to surrender to the patent lunacy of Army of Darkness, but if you do, chances are you'll have a rollicking good time, one that keeps the adrenaline fueled substantially while also delivering a lot of admittedly juvenile but just plain laugh out loud humor. This new Shout! release may not be absolutely perfect, but it's an incredibly solid effort with a lot to celebrate, including a glut of supplements. Highly recommended.