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Army of Darkness (1993) — Episode 38 — Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond

“Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up! You see this? This… is my BOOMSTICK!” One of many unforgettable one liners that Ash (Bruce Campbell) spouts in  Army of Darkness. The third in writer/director Sam Raimi’s  Evil Dead  trilogy is the cult favorite. For many, it’s the first film in the franchise they saw. It gave us the most recurring pop culture variation on Ash as a character. The strapping hero with a quippy zinger and a chainsaw hand at the ready. Now, with  Ash vs Evil Dead  Season 3 in full swing, it’s only natural to take a look back at the film that makes many a fan scream “Hail to the King, Baby.”

Decades of Horror 1990s And Beyond
Episode 38 — Army of Darkness (1993)

After the first  Evil Dead  was made for peanuts and  Evil Dead II  raised the production up to a modest low budget,  Army of Darkness  is a true studio blockbuster. Which is pretty odd considering the meager cult status of the first two. Yet, Universal and Dino De Laurentiis allowed Sam Raimi to go hog wild. And hog wild he did go. Pit demons, man eating books and an army of evil skeletons. All while having B movie sharp chin Campbell at the center. Between the surreal imagery and cartoonish slapstick,  Army of Darkness  is either your favorite of the trilogy or the one where it goes too far.

To debate this very topic, Thomas Mariani counts on the steel of Chad Hunt, Christopher G. Moore and Sam Brutuxan to break it down. Sam initially started with  Army of Darkness  and fell in love with the over the top comedy of the series. Christopher appreciated the darker roots of the original two and felt  Army of Darkness  went off the rails. Chad and Thomas just appreciate the weird Sam Raimi fly by the seat of your pants with the whole trilogy. The four ask the important questions about  Army of Darkness. How did Ash get so buff within the span of a week in which the trilogy takes place? Does Ash vs Evil Dead  carry on the legacy of the franchise well?  Do skeletons have sex drives? All the answers are a click away!

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The intro and outro is  “Suck City” by Black Math. Look for more of their music via  Free Music Archive.

Next Episode

In The Mouth of Madness  (1995)

Doc Rotten
Doc Rotten is the founder of Gruesome Magazine. He is also a film critic for Gruesome Magazine and the podcast host & producer for Horror News Radio, Monster Movie Podcast, Decades of Horror: 1970s, The American Horror Story Fan Podcast and Hannibal Fan Podcast. He is also co-host of the Dracula podcast on TV TALK and is a contributing reviewer for HorrorNews.Net and Widescreen Warrior. Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
http://www.docrotten.com