Army of Darkness was originally meant to be the storyline in Evil Dead II, but since Sam Raimi was still working on a moderate budget and production wanted another hit similar to The Evil Dead, the sequel became a reimagining of Ash’s horrific time at Knowby Cabin. After Raimi’s success with Darkman, though, he was afforded enough of a budget to make the medieval terrors of his ideas come to life using Introvision, KNB creature effects, and loads of slapstick humor.
This iteration of the Evil Dead franchise rightfully doesn’t use the moniker at all; instead, Raimi circumvents a lot of the tropes of the previous two films in the series by following Ash (Bruce Campbell) into a time rift to the Middle Ages, where he literally drops into the court of Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert) and his knights. This castle in Kandar has been besieged by the Deadites, which are growing stronger by the day and can only be stopped by the fated Necronomicon, which is kept somewhere in a decrepit cemetery. Since it’s also the only way to get Ash home, he agrees to collect the book, say the mystical magic words, and bring it back so the castle’s wise men can finally banish the Deadites for good. Of course, Ash doesn’t do things the right way, and he accidentally raises the army of the dead as well as a decayed clone of himself leading the charge.
Army of Darkness has all the things that fans had come to love about Raimi’s Evil Dead universe, but it makes even bigger strides with an obviously larger budget as well as a stronger confidence in the subject matter. Here, Ash has undergone a bit of a character change; in the previous iterations, he had sort of been an everyman character without much dialogue, but Sam and Ivan Raimi’s scriptwriting transforms him into a smug and overconfident hero who is often the originator of his own troubles. Campbell puts in an excellent performance, rising to the occasion and spawning a handful of cult one-liners; but more than that, his madcap energy during various frenetic slapstick scenes gives Army of Darkness a unique humor hinted at in Evil Dead II.
While the plot itself is really just a mechanism to introduce a number of new Deadite elements, Army of Darkness does a surprisingly good job melding fantasy genre staples with the Evil Dead universe, and Raimi’s use of Harryhausen-style effects for the skeleton army adds another layer of uniqueness to the film. While those that didn’t appreciate the dark comedy inherent in the first two probably won’t be swayed here, Army of Darkness provides additional avenues for non-genre fans to succumb to the series’ charms; it’s that much more welcoming.
Of course, I don’t need to convince most people in the year of our lord 2022 to see the finale in Raimi’s trilogy; 30 years later, it still provides an energy level and concision that most horror films can’t achieve. Whether you watch the original theatrical cut or the director’s cut with original ending, the end result is the same: the series just won’t remain dead because of its important contributions to the horror comedy subgenre.
4K UHD
Scream Factory has released Army of Darkness on 4K UHD with a 4-disc collector’s edition. This mimics their previous 3-disc Blu-ray version from 2015, adding a fourth UHD disc which includes a new 4K scan of the original camera negative for the theatrical version. Of course, this new offering also includes Dolby Vision HDR and HDR 10 compatibility.
The results here are quite obviously an improvement. Scream Factory’s previous Blu-ray had a pretty good transfer, but here the UHD really showcases a lot more fine detail, especially in makeup effects and facial features. The HDR provides better contrasting and shadow definition, and this release has a noticeably different color palette that’s occasionally cooler but also more vibrant. You’ll also notice a different framing, with the theatrical cut offering the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The film uses a lot of composite effects thanks to its Introvision stop-motion, and those scenes do tend to highlight the green screen-esque effects going on. There are also a few instances of debris and blemishes towards the beginning of the film, but ultimately very little damage. Overall, though, I was quite impressed with this transfer and would certainly call it a step up from previous iterations on Blu-ray; fans should definitely be excited to see Army of Darkness looking this good.
Unfortunately, the same UHD treatment has not been provided to the director’s cut or international cut on this release, which both use the same transfers as Scream Factory’s 2015 Blu-ray. The director’s cut specifically also did not receive a new transfer at that time, and fans are rightfully clamoring to see that version in the same great quality as the theatrical cut. It’s unfortunate that for whatever reason Scream Factory could not secure material of that cut for this release, and it does leave the door open for another release to come along offering at least much of the UHD theatrical cut with HD director’s cut inserts. As for the international cut, it did receive a new 4K scan on the previous release, and here is presented in the same format complete with the same menus.
Both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 track have been provided for every cut on this release, and both sound very good. The 5.1 makes use of the rear speakers with various creature sound effects and music cues, and the dialogue is strong on both options. English subtitles are also included for all cuts.
For extras, Scream Factory has ported over every offering from the past Blu-ray release; on the 4K UHD disc, we get a theatrical trailer, and the rest of the extras are housed on the three other Blu-rays. The TV cut of the film is also included, albeit in 1080i. Since all of these features were available on the past release, we won’t cover them in-depth here; however, see the included extra features list for timestamps, as well as our screenshot gallery.
Extra Features
DISC ONE (THEATRICAL CUT – 4K UHD):
- NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative Approved By Director Sam Raimi, Director Of Photography Bill Pope, And Editor Bob Murawski
- In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 Compatible)
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
DISC TWO (THEATRICAL CUT – BLU-RAY):
- NEW 2022 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative approved by director Sam Raimi, director of photography Bill Pope, and editor Bob Murawski
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- Medieval Times: The Making of “Army Of Darkness” – A Feature-length Documentary With Over 20 people Interviewed Including Star & Co-Producer Bruce Campbell, Actors Ted Raimi, Bill Moseley, And Patricia Tallman, And Many More… (1080p; 1:36:34)
- Original Ending (1080i; 4:37)
- Alternate Opening With Optional Commentary By Sam Raimi And Bruce Campbell (1080i; 2:58)
- Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary By Sam Raimi And Bruce Campbell (1080i; 11:06)
- Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 2:03)
- TV Spots (1080p; 1:54)
- U.S. Video Promo (1080p; 0:32)
DISC THREE – (DIRECTOR’S CUT – BLU-RAY):
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- Audio Commentary With Director Sam Raimi, Actor Bruce Campbell, And Co-Writer Ivan Raimi
- Additional Behind-The-Scenes Footage From KNB Effects (1080i; 53:54)
- Creating the Deadites – Vintage Featurette (1080i; 21:29)
- Vintage “Making Of” Featurette (1080p; 4:51)
- On-set video footage compilation (1080p; 4:40)
- Extended Interview Clips With Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, And Robert Tapert (1080p; 5:02)
DISC FOUR – (INTERNATIONAL CUT – BLU-RAY):
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0 (International Cut)
- Television Version With Additional Footage (Standard Definition) (1080i; 1:33:03)
- International Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:08)
- Still Galleries With Rare Behind-The-Scenes Photos From Production Designer Anthony Tremblay, Visual Effects Supervisor William Mesa And Special Make-Up Effects Artists Tony Gardner And KNB EFX, Inc. (Over 200 Stills) (chapter breaks; 28:16)
- Still Gallery Of Props And Rare Photos From The Collection Of Super Fan Dennis Carter Jr. (chapter breaks; 4:05)
- Storyboards For Deleted Or Alternate Scenes (chapter breaks; 7:37)
- The Men Behind The Army – Vintage Featurette (1080i; 18:58)
Verdict
This 4K UHD is definitely a step up from past Blu-ray releases of Army of Darkness, at least for the theatrical cut. If you’re a big stickler about having the director’s cut in an updated format, this reissue won’t fix those woes, and another downside here is the lack of any new extras if you already own the past Collector’s Edition.
