Army of Darkness
Movie, 1992, Ash Williams, Set in The Middle Ages
Army of Darkness is #3 of 7 in release order and #3 of 7 in chronological order in the Evil Dead.
The story
Ash, a handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk, is time warped backwards into England's Dark Ages, where he romances a beauty and faces legions of the undead.
Army of Darkness recap
Army of Darkness (1992) strands Ash Williams in the Middle Ages, where he needs the Necronomicon to get home and ends up fighting an army of the dead. Sam Raimi directs, with Bruce Campbell as Ash and Embeth Davidtz as Sheila, a woman of Lord Arthur's castle. Taken for a spy, Ash wins over Arthur's court by killing a Deadite in a pit with his shotgun and chainsaw hand. The Wise Man sends him to collect the book, but Ash forgets the last word of the phrase "Klaatu barada nikto" and fumbles it. His mistake raises the dead, led by Evil Ash, a double who split from him in a haunted windmill. Sheila is taken and turned, and Ash uses textbooks from his car to arm the knights. This is the last of Raimi's three films; Ash vs Evil Dead picks up decades later.
Army of Darkness ending explained
Army of Darkness ends with Ash beating the Deadites, destroying Evil Ash and saving Sheila, then drinking a potion to sleep his way back to the present. In the theatrical cut he is back at work at S-Mart, where a Deadite he let through attacks shoppers; he shoots it and says "Hail to the king, baby". The director's cut instead has him oversleep and wake in a ruined future.
Post-credits scenes
No. Army of Darkness has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness is streaming on Prime Video, Philo, and AMC+ in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.4/10, Rotten Tomatoes 68%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Evil Dead II, before Evil Dead.
- Chronological order: after Evil Dead II, before Ash vs Evil Dead.
What to watch before Army of Darkness
In release order, the essentials before Army of Darkness (1992) are The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987).
Cast
- Bruce Campbell as Ash
- Embeth Davidtz as Sheila
- Marcus Gilbert as Arthur
- Ian Abercrombie as Wiseman
- Richard Grove as Duke Henry
- Michael Earl Reid as Gold Tooth
- Timothy Patrick Quill as Blacksmith
- Bridget Fonda as Linda
- Patricia Tallman as Possessed Witch
- Ted Raimi as Cowardly Warrior / Second Supportive Villager / S-Mart Clerk
- Deke Anderson as Tiny Ash #1
- Bruce Thomas as Tiny Ash #2
Directed by Sam Raimi.