Customer Reviews

Army of Darkness: Screwhead Edition [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(253)
4 star:		(87)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I've probably seen Army of Darkness a hundred times and on several different formats over the years. When I watched this Blu-Ray edition it was like watching it for the first time. I found myself smiling the whole way through and noticed little details that only hi-def can provide. It's great that they can make old movies people love look brand spanking new. That being said, the disc doesn't contain much else, but none of the other Army of Darkness releases did either. It has the theatrical cut only, which I actually prefer as the directors cut changed some key one-liners. You can watch the Alternate ending seperately, and there is the featurette on creating the deadites which we've seen before. Oh, and the audio commentary.So nothing new except the quality, but thats enough reason to pick this up. Plus it sounds amazing. If you want a bunch of Evil Dead special features then pick up the Evil Dead blu-ray or ultimate edition DVD. It has tons of stuff, but sadly I don't see many AOD extras coming anytime soon, as I dont think much behind the scenes stuff exists. But don't let that get you down you primitive screwheads. This is still one to pick up!

Anyone who's going try and take this movie serious and say that the acting is bad and the specialfx are poor are not the people they had in mind to watch this film.This is the movie they wanted to make and those of us with a true sense of humour will agree that it's genius.It's over the top,funny,witty and very entertaining.Just lastnight I played this movie for a buddy of mine for the first time and he was in stitches and kicked himself for not seeing it sooner.I'm not a big horror movie nerd, but this movie along with evil dead II are in my top 50 list for sure.And as far as the special fx go,I find they give this movie it's own dreamscape and make it very twisted and creepy and the same goes for evil dead I and II.

Over the past few years ive introduce my spouse to The Evil Dead films mainly the first two since ive been waiting for them to stop releasing numerous versions of the third one.
So I bought The BoomStick Edition and her and I watched it and she was in tears from start to finish.
She finally agreed with me that yes Bruce is the man.
Army of Darkness is so stupid yet totally watchable even if it does fail to live up to the franchise expectations.
Bruce has allready proven his chops recently with Bubba Ho Tep so im hoping that an allout final big boy finale for the Evil Dead series will follow.
As much as I would like see Freddy vs Jason vs Ash that will not count no matter how good it may turn out to be as the big finale im craving to see.

description is wrong. it is not the director's cut with 15 more minutes. it is the exact same blu-ray as the Screw-Heah Edition that already exist. do not buy

This third installment of the Evil Dead trilogy is just all-out hilarious. Ash doesn't take crap from anyone, and it seems like nothing surprises him anymore, in this cheesy, entertaining film!

Army of Darkness-The Screwhead Edition is a good addition to my ever-growing movie collection. I was very happy with this since I own the original Evil Dead films and this completes the original trilogy. The movie itself is very entertaining, especially when you're watching it with friends and family, since for some reason that seems to boost its hilarity.
My only problem is that it's not the actual director's cut, which appears to be very difficult to find. However, this is a minor problem because I got what I wanted--the movie, and the alternate ending (which is available in the special features).
Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi have done it again!
**** out of *****

Loved all the Evil Dead movies and am so glad I got to add this to my collection. Very disappointed about the new Evil Dead movie coming out. No one can replace Bruce Campbell. He made this series.

Being the final installment to the Evil Dead series, this movie stands up to its precedent stories, although the treatment is different here. Indeed, Raimi, known for his genre-mixing movies, has opted for a comedic and adventurous story in Army of Darkness, as we find Ash fighting his way across hordes of demonic entities while trying to find his way back to the twentieth century.

Although I was surprised to see that the story wasn't set in the Middle-East like in the original ending of Evil Dead 2, but in England instead, the plot really kept me into my seat. Even better, it foreshadowed what Robert Tapert and Sam Raimi would do on Xena and Hercules, mixing dramatic action scenes with comedic situations, and an excellent soundtrack from Joseph LoDuca. If there were times when I felt the comedy was more evident in this movie, there are still some scary situations to endure, like when the Dead spirits, through Sam Raimi's camera, harass Ash and force him to hide in a windmill.

If I had one criticism to the story, it is that the Sheila character was a bit too stereotypical in the damsel-in-distress way that she and Ash interacted. Not only that, I felt their romance was a bit forced upon us and I don't think it would have hurt the story if there hadn't been any romance for us to see.

Technically, the fights and special effects were well done and more impressive. They also included a great use of the stop-motion animation, most notably with the Deadmites army. But my favorite effects were the mini-versions of Ash who torture him in the windmill. Their actions towards Ash were funny and add to Bruce's talent as a comedy actor.

Again on the technical aspect, although there are some shots in the movie that are still grainy and dirty (like a view of the castle at night, or during the fight with the "She-bitch" (says Ash!)), this movie's High Definition is amazing. Indeed, the image is so clear that you can even see the sweat and the pores on the actors' faces. And even though you can see the dirt on the camera for one shot, this Blu-Ray's images make it worth buying this movie. Especially when the excellent Dolby sound effect makes this movie experience great to listen to.

As for the bonuses, I was glad to see the first ending that they wanted to use, and I'm happy that they reshot it and gave the official, and better, finale because it worked better in the comedic tone of this movie, unlike Evil Dead 2 which had a more dramatic tension than Army of Darkness.

In the end, this movie is a treat for those who are ready to kick back from the week's work, and enjoy a good adventure. One that, once again, foreshadows what would be done on Xena and Hercules.

Army of Darkness(released in Oct/92)finds our hero Ash back,played by Bruce don't-call-me-Ash Campbell.It's his film all the way through,as he chews the scenery up,right,left and centre stage.The co stars are really just incidental to the proceedings.
This film finds us about where the last left off.A passage read in the Necronomicon in the last film mentioned a man from the sky that would arrive in 1300 A.D. to help the people fend off the deadites.Well,Ash is THE man of legend,much to his chagrin.He takes care of the initial deadite onslaught and goes into the castle grounds.There he is forced to take care of a deadite down a large well.After this he finds that in order for the wizard to send him back to his own time,he must obtain the Necronomicon from a local cemetery.The wizard gives him the words to speak to get the book safely away:Klaatu,Barada,Nickto(words every film fan worth their salt knows as the self same ones Patricia Neal had to speak to Klaatu in the 1951 film,The Day the Earth Stood Still....and Ash obviously hadn't seen it!).
He arrives at the cemetery,after a brief encounter with deadites in a windmill,only to find not one but three Books of the Dead.He opens the first and gets sucked into it.After he gets out the second bites him and continually flies at him until he is able to subdue it.Of course the last one would be the real one.He starts to chant the sacred words:Klaatu,Barada...Necktie... Neckturn... Nickel... It's an "N" word, it's definitely an "N" word!...".In final desperation he says the first two and substitutes a drawn out cough for the last one.He looks around,nothing seemingly happens,but as he starts to return to his horse skeletal hands begin to rise up through the ground and trip him and try to grab the book.He gets away and returns to the castle.
He tells everyone that everything is alright,he has the book and now it's time he got returned to his own time.By now the people have thought he would stick around to fight the deadites and they are very disappointed.In the meantime the deadites have risen up from their graves and are marching on the castle.When a girl who had become infatuated with Ash is possessed by the deadites,he vows to stay and fight.It is a pitched battle but in the end good wins the day over evil and Ash is finally returned to his own time.
In the finale we find Ash back at work as he is explaining his exploits to some disbelieving fellow employees.Suddenly a deadite appears and Ash is forced to take action,as he grabs his weapon of choice,a boomstick(a shotgun to you Evil Dead noobs),and blasts the thing back to where it came.The film ends as Ash has a lovely lass bent over,ready for a kiss,as he utters the immortal words"Hail to the King,baby".
So ends the Evil Dead trilogy that really made a star out of Bruce Campbell;and rightfully so.Campbell has got to be the hardest B picture character actor in the business,along with being a very prudent and smart business man.He has written books,along with his movie work and has also directed.A man of many talents our Bruce is,and it shows that you don't have to be a Hollywood suck up to make it in films.We need more Campbells out there.
Technically speaking the print here is beautiful and is shown in its original a/r of 1:85:1.Extras include a featurette on the S/Fx and the alternate ending to the film.
All in all a recommended picture.This is the last of the Evil Dead series and shows Bruce Campbell off in his element as Ash.It is not GREAT film per se',but just a fun,fun romp in the horror genre that will have you laughing as much as jumping scared.

Another great Evil Dead movie staring the best B movie actor Bruce "Don't Call Me Ash" Campbell, great fun and great story! Forget the bootleg edition the Boomstick edition is where the real action is!