Army of Darkness (1993): How the zombie comedy went so far from its origins
“Are all men from the future loud-mouthed braggarts?”
“Nope. Just me, baby.”
Putting together our list of the funniest zombie comedy movies, we had to include the 1992 dark fantasy horror comedy Army of Darkness. A decidedly weird (in the best way) sequel to the previous two Evil Dead movies, Army of Darkness stars Bruce Campbell as a sarcastic hardware store clerk who finds himself transported to 1300 A.D. Before he can return home, he must get the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead.
The movie was directed, co-written, and co-edited by Sam Raimi. Whereas the original (and subsequent) Evil Dead movies serve a more traditional horror model that involves an ancient text terrorizing folks out in the woods, Army of Darkness is a broader action fantasy that involves time travel and armies, and salutes the classic stop-motion animation work of Ray Harryhausen (as demonstrated in his 1958 movie The 7th Voyage of Sinbad).
Although Army of Darkness didn’t do great at the box office, the cult following has grown over the years. The movie has also been the subject of lots of Army of Darkness comic books, including an adaptation and several comic book sequels.
In the video playlist below, we’ve got a trailer, a couple of clips, and a feature-length documentary about the making of Army of Darkness…
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Monster Complex playlist: Army of Darkness (1993)
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