Army of Darkness (R)
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This is a direct sequel to Evil Dead 2, though I don't think it was marketed as such, because it was the first movie in the series to be distributed by a major studio. It's also the first movie in the series that I don't consider a B-movie, even if it does still kind of have that vibe. It's certainly a larger scale production than the first two movies. Anyway, it came out in 1992, and I saw it on VHS sometime in the 90s. I'm reviewing it in 2024, after watching it on DVD. I have the "Screwhead Edition", which is the theatrical version of the movie. There are a few other versions, which I haven't seen. The DVD includes a couple of bonus features, one of which I didn't watch. But I did watch the alternate ending (which is actually the original ending, which can be found in some other version like the director's cut, I think).

At the end of the second movie, Ash was sucked through a portal that deposited him in the past, around 1300 A.D. This movie starts with him as a prisoner, then Ash narrates a brief set of flashbacks to the second movie. His arrival in the past doesn't go the same way in this movie, though. He's captured by knights led by Lord Arthur (whether or not this is meant to be the King Arthur, I have no idea). He joins other prisoners, including Duke Henry, who led a group that was at war with Arthur's people. Ash is believed to be one of Henry's men, and he can't convince his captors otherwise. There is a lady named Sheila (Embeth Davidtz), who at first hates Ash because of his supposed association with Henry, one of whose men had killed her brother. One of Henry's men gets thrown into a pit, and is quickly killed by something. Then Ash gets thrown in and fights a couple of "Deadites", before escaping. A Wise Man believes he is the hero who has been prophesied to save them from the Deadites, demonic beings that have been plaguing both Arthur's people and Henry's. After killing the Deadites, Ash is hailed as a hero, and demands Henry and his men be let go. And Sheila apologizes to him.

At first, Ash has no interest in battling the Deadites. He just wants to go home to his own time. The Wise Man says this will only be possible after he obtains a book called the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, which is in a cemetery. He says that before Ash takes the book, he must recite three magical words. (The phrase sounds to me like "Klaatu verata nikto", which is based on the line "Klaatu barada nikto" from the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still". I could have misheard the phrase in this movie, but I really feel like the middle word was altered.) Anyway, by the time he finds the book, he's forgotten the final word, and just tries to fake it. This causes a bunch of dead skeletons to rise, to lay siege to Arthur's castle. It seems odd to me that this only became a problem after Ash failed to properly recite the phrase, because it's clear that there were already Deadites making trouble before that. But whatever. Ash returns to the castle and gives the book to the Wise Man. He intends to return to his own time, but after a Deadite captures Sheila, he changes his mind. He uses some 20th Century know-how to help prepare Arthur's men to do battle, as well as proposing an alliance with Henry.

And I guess that's all I want to reveal of the plot. I've already left out a lot of details up to this point, to avoid spoiling things. I will say the theatrical ending is happier than the original ending, and I feel it's more iconic and less derivative than the original ending, so I like it better. And overall, I like this movie rather more than the first two, though there are some people who like the second movie a bit more than this one. They're definitely different in tone. Both are somewhat comedic, but this one really leans into that a lot more than the earlier film. This one definitely isn't as scary. But I personally think it's more fun. I still can't quite manage to love it, but it's certainly memorable.