September 21, 2009

You have comedy and you have horror and then you Sam Raimi, the only person I know of who can blend the two genres in such a way that you are laughing one minute and crapping your pants the next. Joining forces with Sam is Bruce Campbell, one of my favorite pulp-movie icons, who plays Ash, the same guy we met when he traveled to that sinister cabin in the woods with a group of friends in Evil Dead, and back again with his girlfriend in Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn. In fact, we get a hasty recap of those events in the opening montage that shows Ash getting sucked out of the cabin and into a swirling dimensional vortex that deposits him in some medieval land where he takes on the role as prophesied savior.

Army of Darkness: Screwhead Edition is a fun, laughable romp that touches on the horror genre, but even when it gets bloody you can’t help but laugh. After all, how does one human victim with 5-6 quarts of blood in their body generate a geyser of arterial spray that would make Yellowstone Park envious? We quickly shove reality to the side and stop asking, how many shotgun shells does he really carry, or when will that chainsaw run out of gas, or how an S-Mart employee has the knowledge to build a bionic hand out of a suit of armor? We sit back for the fun and the laughably bad dialogue and one-liners that are sure to be plagiarized in countless video games and tribute movies in the future and cringe at the cheesy effects that define the look and style of this series.

When we first catch up with Ash he has been captured by the local inhabitants and branded a spy while the guards poke spears at the infamous yellow Oldsmobile – a signature in every Raimi movie – just ask Peter Parker’s Uncle or the old gypsy in Drag Me to Hell. As punishment, he is tossed in a pit with an old hag, but a sympathetic bystander tosses down his chainsaw and the tables are turned. And when Ash is reunited with his “boomstick”, the citizens decide to pardon our hero.

Intent on returning home, Ash must locate the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead), the same book that got him here, but when he does and fails to recite the incantation properly to remove it from the cemetary, all sorts of horrible undead creatures are unleashed into the world, and now Ash must join forces with two warring factions to defend against this unspeakable evil. Don’t worry – it’s not as serious as it sounds.

Filmmaking: 8
If anything, Army of Darkness is probably the most self-aware spoof of all time. The situations are preposterous; the dialogue is pure camp, and the effects transition between truly scary make-up and prosthetics to laughably bad composite work that has Ash fighting off a dozen miniature versions of himself. I cringe at scoring this movie as high as some other true greats, but Army of Darkness is in a league, and even a genre of its own. If anything, it pioneered the comedy-horror genre with its irreverent approach to blood and guts infused with a serious amount of laughter. I can’t imagine anyone but Bruce being able to pull this part off, and there is a bit of Ash in just about every part he’s played since this film. His physical comedy and crazy facial expressions easily rival anything Jim Carrey has ever done.

Visuals: 6
While certainly better than my SD copy, Army of Darkness didn’t impress me much with its 1080p debut on Blu-ray. Bits and pieces are quite good, especially when you start looking at the detailed textures in fabric and armor, and the make-up has never been more grisly or detailed, but contrast is off, colors are muted, and there is a lot of grain, edge enhancement, and periodic specs of dirt or white spots popping up in the frame. One could argue that it adds to the B-movie flavor of the film, but given the cult-like status of the movie, I was hoping some actual work would go into it’s high-def presentation. Fans deserve better.

Sound: 8
What the film lacks in video it more than makes up for in the sound department with an aggressive DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix that had my subwoofer trembling with each shotgun blast or when some unseen entity is chasing Ash into that sinister windmill on the hill and starts pounding on the door. It seems that all of the channels are put to use but without any specific effect. I was hearing things in all my speakers but I never got that feeling of being “in the scene”. The dialogue track has been completely overhauled and sounds better than any previous versions of the film. You can now clearly hear, understand, and memorize every unforgettable line in this film.

Value: 2
Screwhead Edition means you just got screwed when it comes to bonus material. Where is my commentary with Sam and Bruce, where are all my “making of...” and retrospect features? U-Control is wasted on showing production photos in a PiP window and the only extras are a 21-minute feature on make-up and effects, and a 5-minute alternate ending. Throw in a trailer and some BD-Live support and you have the worst excuse for a special edition ever. Shame on somebody…

Overall: 8.7
I’m the nerd these movies were made for. I still have Evil Dead on laserdisc and I don’t even have a laserdisc player anymore. Army of Darkness is the perfect Bruce Campbell vehicle and a great party movie for the guys (girls will shake their head in puzzlement – they just don’t get it). While the sound has definitely been given a nice upgrade, the visuals are only a slight improvement over the SD release, and when compared side-by-side in an upconverting player – hardly noticeable at all. If you don’t already own this classic then Blu-ray is certainly the way to go, but even if you do own a previous version, this is only $10 at any Wal-Mart, so pick-up a copy and a case of beer and call the guys. Things are about to get “groovy”!