Somebody please explain the popularity of Army of Darkness

[takyris]

It's a guy movie. Now, mind you, I don't like all guy movies, but there's a certain kind of thing that my wife just looks at and sighs, while I'm laughing uproariously at the antics onscreen. This isn't to impugn your (assumed) masculinity -- I don't like all guy-oriented things -- but that is, I believe, the appeal. This guy isn't some namby-pamby "carefully consider all the options" guy. He's gonna beat the snot out of anything that comes his way, unless he's hugely outnumbered, in which case he's going to save his butt. It's just classic that way.

Reminds me, now that I'm thinking about it in terms of flavor rather than genre or plot, of Farscape -- a very guy-type hero, in both the good ways and the bad ways, and aware enough of both aspects to have a great time with it.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Dang...

Which version do I have? Now I have to go check... (I haven't watched it yet, dang it...)

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Dang...

Which version do I have? Now I have to go check... (I haven't watched it yet, dang it...)

I believe that the most recent "Boomstick" version has both the theatrical ending, the bootleg version, the extra "deleted" scenes, the commentaries, and the Bruce Campbell documentary "Fanalysis"- basically, everything that was spread out over the last (two? three?) releases. I think it might even come with an apology from Bruce for having so many different versions (well, he did apologize for it at one point...)

Also, something that occurred to me after my first post was that all three of these films (but most particularly the two Evil Deads) were really very much creations of a specific time period in cinema and American history (actually, world history, as I believe they're popular in Europe as well?). I don't know that the same feeling can quite be captured today as it was at the time; it really is a cult thing. None of which is to say that they can't be enjoyed still (like I said, I love the first Evil Dead, even though I never saw it until something like 6? 7? months ago), but I think the "phenomenon" isn't ever going to be quite the same as it was, so the popularity factor may not translate well to today- and it may become wildly popular again in another couple years (things always seem to go in cycles that way).

Besides, evidently Campbell's been bugging Raimi about Evil Dead 4 (I remember reading something to the effect that Sam mentioned it at a Spider-Man 2 press junket several months ago- of course, I also read that they were thinking of doing Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, so who knows?)

 

[Morpheus]

How can you not love a movie with the line "...And I'm a Chinese jet pilot".

 

[Hand of Evil]

I think the reason I like it, it shows what a real geek would do in an unreal world, most movies have people acting stupid, running arond screaming, not using their knowledge, Ash rolls and rocks, he kicks butt because of a simple rule: When asked, if you are a god, you answer yes.

 

[Laurel]

Sorry, but personally, I laughed a few times and that was it.
However, I will add that my future husband and his best friend love the movie and often quote it (reason I finally watched it).
Looking back on it though, my view could be due to disappointment, since I went into watching it thinking it would be something great where they liked it so much. So for now I just leave them to watch and quote from the series.

 

[Chorn]

I think the reason I like it, it shows what a real geek would do in an unreal world, most movies have people acting stupid, running arond screaming, not using their knowledge, Ash rolls and rocks, he kicks butt because of a simple rule: When asked, if you are a god, you answer yes.

Don't forget that while Ash is great at thinking on his feet, he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. "Klaatu Barada N...*mumble*" anyone? He might be unlikeable because he acts like a jerk, but that's the point. You don't empathize with Ash by wanting him to "win" per se, but by watching him get screwed over at each turn. What makes it really fun is that half the time he's the one that caused the screwup in the first place! The guy just can't win.

Oh and IMO, the trilogy is a great example of SAN loss over time. Ash was a regular guy in EVIL DEAD, but he just slowly loses it and becomes that shotgun toting psycho who climbs out of the pit in ARMY OF DARKNESS. You really owe it yourself to catch the first two movies, Firelance. At the very least to see the longer versions of the "evil force" chase sequences.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Oh, one thing I forgot to add, if you decide to watch the prequels, Firelance- Evil Dead 2 isn't really a sequel to Evil Dead so much as a remake. Sort of like Desperado wasn't really a sequel to El Mariachi. Just something to bear in mind.

 

[Zappo]

I like it because it has great lines, and because Ash's approach is diametrically opposite to most horror heroes. Instead of giving up rationality and completing the ritual to banish the evil, which is what happens in 99% of similarly-themed movies, he botches the ritual and releases the evil, and then smashes it to bits with "science". Instead of freezing in doubt when confronted by his corrupted lover, he spits a witty one-liner and whacks her. Heck, to be precise, instead of finding his great love, he basically finds casual sex. The funny bit is that he almost always does approximately what I'd do (except for forgetting three stupid words...), while on a horror movie I am always thinking "you bloody stupid moron, you should...".

But yeah, comedy is highly subjective. There is no way to get you to laugh at something that didn't make you laugh in the first place.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I don't think you can really appreciate AoD without seeing Evil Dead 2 beforehand. Ash Rules!