Army of Darkness (R)
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Albeit slightly better funded, this third chapter in director Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy is another whiplash display of bargain-basement technique, combining makeup, miniatures, stop-motion animation, and gallons of Karo syrup in a breathless manner that turns budgetary constraints into virtues. As before, plot isn't just secondary to the action: It scarcely matters at all. After a frantic recap of the first two films, Raimi literally drops the series' befuddled Ash (Bruce Campbell) into the barren wasteland of 1300 A.D., where, armed with a chainsaw, a double-barreled Remington, and his old beat-up Ford, our hero once again wages war against a nasty crew of pale-faced, bile-spewing undead. What follows is a nonstop orgy of cheesy one-liners and slapstick monster madness, driven by Raimi's fondness for gratuitous zooms, carriage-return whip pans, and herky-jerky handheld mayhem. The major innovation this time out is Raimi's army of sword-wielding skeletons, which march against Ash and his scruffy band of dimwitted knights in a stutter-step style straight out of Jason and the Argonauts. Surely, modern movie technology could have made these ghouls appear more fluid, but Raimi charmingly retains the Sixties-era imperfections to complete his loving homage to the campy Saturday matinee aesthetic. (Rob Nelson)
Review by Rob Nelson
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