Metascore
57 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 18
  2. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. Raimi offers all the fantasy, camp and hardcore horror you devoured in the comics. You can feel the pen-and-ink drawings coming to life. Dipping wittily into myth, the macabre and the modern, it's an effervescent adventure that's as amusing as it is genuinely gripping. [19 Feb 1993, Weekend, p.n38]
  2. Ash's dialogue keeps the movie just goofy enough that even audiences that don't go in for schlock-horror phantasmagorias will be tickled. [19 Feb 1993, Calender, p.F-8]
  3. Reviewed by: Richard Harrington
    80
    Few American directors would dare to show as much over-the-top glee in their chosen craft as Sam Raimi does in Army of Darkness. [19 Feb 1993, Style, p.c7]
  4. 75
    Much of the movie's charm, in fact, is derived from its sense of its own instant disposability. Raimi has created the cinematic equivalent of fast food-efficient, unassuming and seriously regressive. It may not be much good for you in the end, but consuming it is loads of fun. [19 Feb 1993, Friday, p.C]
  5. 75
    No matter what your opinion is of the movie, you're unlikely to be bored.
  6. Reviewed by: Jeremy Zoss
    70
    Easily the most unique film in the trilogy, and in many ways the most fun.
  7. Reviewed by: Chris Hewitt
    60
    As a film in its own right, this quirky Ray Harryhausen tribute (a skeleton army!) rocks. As an Evil Dead film, though, it’s ultimately not funny, scary or gory enough.
  8. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    60
    Blending almost nonstop violence with humorous parody, Sam Raimi's latest excursion into horror-kitsch seems more like an irreverent "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."
  9. By the time Army of Darkness turns into a retread of "Jason and the Argonauts," featuring an army of fighting skeletons, the film has fallen into a ditch between parody and spectacle.
  10. 50
    The movie isn't as funny or entertaining as "Evil Dead II," however, maybe because the comic approach seems recycled.
  11. Fans of ultraviolent sword-and-sorcery nonsense will have a good time; others will head for the exit. [19 Feb 1993, Arts, p.10]
  12. Army of Darkness has good moments and shows traces of wit right up to the end, though these moments wind up coming fewer and farther between. [19 Feb 1993, Daily Datebook, p.D1]
  13. Reviewed by: Michael Gingold
    50
    Raimi is a master at pacing this kind of material, however, and never allows it to become redundant.
  14. Army of Darkness would appeal to small children if it were not also too gruesome for them, since Ash does after all wield a chain saw. [19 Feb 1993, p.C10]
  15. 40
    A poor man's "Excalibur," but the fact of the matter is that the film displays far too little of the incisor-sharp wit and out-of-control mayhem readily available in the other two films. It just doesn't work.
  16. Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    40
    Even diehard fans may long for something to hold the tacky flourishes together—a plot, or maybe even a guide that's more lucid than the Necronomicon.
  17. Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    38
    The movie runs just 80 minutes, but it's enough time for doldrums to set in when nifty special effects and funny verbal exchanges are out grabbing a smoke. [19 Feb 1993, Life, p.5D]
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. After The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn, Army Of Darkness should be epic, right? Well, i'm afraid to say that it doesn't live up to the previous two installments. Army Of Darkness begins where Evil Dead 2 left off: Ash has time travelled to the medieval times (this is why it was unoffically called The Medieval Dead, a name I love btw) While Evil Dead was mainly horror, and Evil Dead 2 was a mix of horror and comedy, Army Of Darkness is more comedy based than horror based. The film has been given a bigger budget, as can be seen with the films location moved to Medieval times, the Army Of Darkness and Bad Ash. Speaking of which... I liked Bad Ash, as a proper enemy for Ash rather than his cut off hand or some evil force that throws him like a rag doll. He was quite a good villian. Not too crazy on his love interest though. A bit bleh for me. This film has Ash as more of a jokester hero than the serious role he played in the last two films. He pulls off some quality lines "All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up. This is my BOOMSTICK!" but I prefered him more serious. As for the ending, I liked the bleak ending "I SLEPT FOR TOO LONG" but I prefered him returning to his time, because it felt kick ass. And it ended brilliantly "Hail to the king, Baby" Ultimately, this film was quite enjoyable, but the choice of comedy over horror made it feel like a bit of a dissapointment when compared to the previous two films. It felt like the right ending to the serious, a bats arse killer way to round off the evil dead story, and I think it deserved it. Full Review »
  2. I find this flim to be entertaining, funny and amusing and deserves a high rating. Depending on what your taste are your score may vary where as my score is a solid 10. If you are in the mood for outrageousness and silly comedy then your in for a good movie. Full Review »
  3. j30
    9
    This was my introduction to the Evil Dead Series, so it holds a special place in my heart. It's flat out hilarious, slap-stick humor without the scares. Full Review »