Army Of Darkness Is The Perfect Gateway Horror Movie

Horror, by its very nature, is an intimidating genre. For one thing, there's something about the promise of being scared that's part warning, part dare. After all, there's a long history of ballyhoo surrounding the genre, whether it's a barker getting people to attend a dark ride at a carnival or TV spots for "Paranormal Activity" showing real audience members scared out of their wits.

There's also another aspect to horror movies in particular being intimidating, that being the fact that there are so darn many of them. In a marketplace that is continually morphing and reinventing itself while paying homage to the past at the same time — we seem to be in a post-post-modern era where slasher movies are concerned, for example — it can be daunting to know where to begin. On a basic, literal level, there are now three separate movies entitled "Halloween" alone! What is a horror fan looking to introduce their significant other or family members to their favorite genre to do? Where is a newbie to begin?

The answer, in this writer's humble opinion, lies with Sam Raimi's med-Evil opus, "Army of Darkness." A movie that's intense, violent, imaginative, expansive but not too expensive, and hilarious without making fun of itself, "Army of Darkness" represents the perfect gateway horror movie, one you can use to test the waters (if you're green to the genre) or expose others to (if you're a veteran) without traumatizing them too harshly.

One of the easiest ways to sell someone on watching "Army of Darkness" (whether it's a pal or yourself) is an aspect of the film that Universal Studios' marketing department zeroed in on when advertising the movie in 1993: it's more than just a horror movie! If "horror" to you means something disturbing, scary, unsettling, or grotesque, well then, "Army of Darkness" is safely free of those more disreputable aspects of the genre.

While you can rest assured that you won't see any eyeballs gouged out (unlike the first two "Evil Dead" pictures made by Raimi, of which "Army" is the third), that's not to say that "Army of Darkness" is all cuddles and friendship. There are still loads of exciting elements in the film, from fight sequences between Ash (Bruce Campbell) and demonic ghouls to "Three Stooges"-inspired setpieces involving Ash and "Gremlins"-esque miniature versions of himself, to a third act that's one long medieval swashbuckling castle siege. Yes, fans of action films, slapstick comedies, and war movies all have something to chew on here. Even though it receives a minimum of screen time, there's even a tawdry romance subplot, a demented love triangle between Ash, lady-in-waiting Sheila (Embeth Davidtz), and Ash's re-animated evil double.

Raimi is a filmmaker whose love of movies is infectious and can be felt to some degree in everything he makes. "Army of Darkness" is the epitome of that quality — it can't be all things to all people, of course, but its energy, exuberance, and mashing-up of so many tones and tropes means that watching it feels a little like changing channels: not into the slapstick? Here comes some stop-motion animation! And so on.

"Army of Darkness" is not an anti-horror movie, however — it's a gateway horror movie, luring you inside the genre so slyly that you may not know it's happening until it's too late. As I mentioned, the film is the third in Raimi's "Evil Dead" trilogy, following "The Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead II," and as such it continues the story of the hapless schmuck Ash battling the forces of the demonic undead who've been resurrected by the powerful magic tome Necronomicon Ex Mortis.

The movie is littered with ghoulish creatures of all sorts: demonically possessed people, winged dragon-like demons, mischievous decoy Necronomicons, tiny Ashs, the hamburger-faced Evil Ash, the vampiric possessed Sheila, and oodles of re-animated talking skeleton warriors. The sheer variety of foes Ash and the forces of good must face is vast enough that the movie coins the term "Deadites" as a catch-all name.

Being the third film where Ash must survive the Deadites' attacks, his attitude toward the creatures is decidedly snarky, like an annoyed parent or sibling more than a victim. Still, one need only observe the things Ash goes through to realize that, if a different character was involved, the movie would be far more obviously horrific. Ash endures beatings, psychological torture, the loss of his hand, being chased by an unseen Evil Force, being ripped from his own time and stuck in the Middle Ages, and having to face a murderous version of himself (and his new girlfriend) — let's face it, the guy is not having a good time. Even if the literal geyser of blood that occurs early on in the film is its most gory moment, there's no question that the life-and-death stakes of "Army of Darkness" are not to be dismissed.

As fans of "Army of Darkness" already know, the film has a weird history involving its distribution and the existence of several alternative cuts. The reasons for this can be found elsewhere, but the ultimate result is that these various versions allow one to have a different experience based on your tastes and mood.

To wit: are you looking to have a relatively breezy, more comedic, fun spook-a-blast time with the movie? Then the Theatrical Cut is for you. On the other hand, if you'd like a bit more meaty character development, then try the International Version. Wary of the movie's light-R rating? There's the Television Version for that. Of course, if you're ready and willing to dive into the deeper end of the movie's horror aspects, try the Director's Cut, with its infamously downbeat (though much more appropriate for a horror film and the "Evil Dead" series in general) finale.

No matter which version you choose, there are plenty of ways you can follow up a viewing of "Army of Darkness" with your next horror venture. You could rip the band-aid off, so to speak, and go straight for the first two "Evil Dead" films. Or you could give another horror adventure featuring stop-motion animation a try, like "Jason and the Argonauts" or the original "King Kong." Perhaps another horror-comedy is in order, like "Gremlins" or "Goosebumps." My personal recommendation would be to follow up Raimi's Universal horror movie with some of the classic Universal horror films: "Dracula," "Frankenstein," and the like. In any case, "Army of Darkness" will set you on your merry, horrific way.

Allow me to finish this article by nearly completely contradicting myself. As it happens, I was once a scaredy-cat when it came to horror films, so much so that just looking at the poster art for the average slasher film would give me nightmares. One afternoon at a friend's birthday party, it was announced that we would be watching "The Evil Dead," a title I knew meant scary stuff. When I couldn't figure out a way to leave the party in time, I watched the movie nervously from the back of the room so as not to embarrass myself.

To my surprise and everlasting enjoyment, I became enthralled by Raimi's movie. I loved it so much that I hunted down a copy of it for my own shortly after that party, becoming rapidly obsessed with the way in which it was made and the enjoyably spooky feeling it gave me. From there, I discovered its sequels and was not only easily charmed by "Army of Darkness," but used that movie to introduce my suspicious parents to the genre I was now a full-blown fan of. 

So whether you're using one of Raimi's films or another gateway movie, I highly encourage you and/or your loved ones to join us (ahem) in the eerie, fascinating, joyous dark of the horror genre.