by Tracy Ladd:
Well, I have completed my Evil Dead quest and can honestly say that I’ve now watched all three films. I wrapped up the journey this past weekend by watching Army of Darkness. Now, this is the one that I did happen to see when it was in the theater. I mentioned back in my first post, that I hated it. I also didn’t know it was part of a trilogy at the time.
Going back and watching it again through fresh eyes, and armed with my new-found knowledge of the first two, I can say that I totally see why I hated it the first time around. Does that mean I hated it this time? No. But I can understand what led me to hate it previously. I was not under Ash’s spell that first time and had no grasp on what he was like. The one liners were not so bad they were good, they were just plain bad. All of it, to me at the time was just bad, bad, bad!
Now, I’ve seen the light. While I can’t say that Army of Darkness was my favorite out of the three it was quite fun to watch. Actually come to think of it I can’t pick a favorite. The first one took the horror road. The second, took the humorous schlock-y horror road. Army of Darkness went off path straight to ridiculous. It does however, have something that the others don’t. Army of Darkness supplies its viewers with an endless quantity of quotes. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a quality to be admired. It’s not only magical, but it’s also an art form for films to work their way into everyday conversations. I use film quotes on a daily basis and I can guarantee that at some point today I will exclaim that something is my boomstick. It may just be the dish rag, but that’s ok. As long as it’s said with conviction, it doesn’t matter what the item is.
Army of Darkness follows Ash through the time portal that was opened at the end of the last movie. Stuck in 1300 A.D., Ash once again has to find that pesky Book of the Dead in order to get back to his own time. We’re also introduced to yet another Linda. The third in as many movies, but this time she was played by Bridgette Fonda and was onscreen for about two seconds. Of course she died in the first film. Oh and the second. But that’s just nit-picking.
Ash still has that awesome chainsaw, but he also gets a really cool mid-evil / terminator-ish hand that can crush goblets like a wad of paper so that’s pretty cool. He sports a cut up face, torn shirt and perfect smile with all the bravado he can muster. I love Bruce Campbell. No one else could play Ash like he does. He had me at “Groovy”.
Hey one thing I did learn was that Ash’s Oldsmobile that was in all three films was actually Director Sam Raimi’s car. Apparently he put it in all of his earlier films and what was seen in the trunk was actually his. I find that pretty darned cool.
Army of Darkness didn’t offer up all of the valuable survival lessons that the first film did, but it did teach me that there is always room for a snappy comeback. What do you do when your evil twin spontaneously grows out of your shoulder and taunts you for being good? You say: “Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the gun.”
When someone comes up on you and rubs their leadership in your face, hit them with this: “Well hello Mister Fancypants. Well, I’ve got news for you pal, you ain’t leadin’ but two things, right now: Jack and shit… and Jack left town. “ Pairing survival skills with a snappy comeback will help increase your odds of living. It’s a proven fact. Bruce Willis never died in the Die Hard movies. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t die after he let Sully go or told Bennett to let off some steam.
I feel like I’m in that scene in T2: Judgement Day where John Connor is trying to teach the Terminator how to be cool. Ok so technically Arnie “died” in that one. But still, my rule stands. I guess this movie did provide some lessons after all. After three movies, lots of shrill screaming, truckloads of blood, three different Linda’s, two scary cabins (ok, one if they were the same) frisky trees, and a book that would die, I’ve learned the most important lesson of all. For God’s sake…….whatever you do…..shop smart. Shop S-Mart.
DarkMedia contributor Tracy Ladd has been writing about film since her days on the her high school newspaper. Even though she took a decade or two off to explore other things, she’s back to doing what she loves. She also bakes, can knit a pretty nifty scarf and makes lightsaber sounds with her knitting needles. Or chopsticks. Especially with the lightsaber chopsticks.
You can find her on Facebook, on Twitter @ReelGoddess, and on her website The Reel Goddess.
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