I consider myself a fan of the Evil Dead series, but I came in just before Army of Darkness hit theaters so I’m not what you’d call an OG devotee. I was surprised to learn there exists an even lower budget version from 1978 called Within the Woods. This 30 minute short is apparently what enabled Sam Raimi to get financing for Evil Dead. That film’s success would score the financing for Evil Dead 2 and later the comparatively expensive finale, Army of Darkness. Now that I’ve seen the short that started it all, I’m happy to note that this may be the only quadrilogy in motion picture history in which each successive sequel is superior to its predecessor.
The remake of the remake of the remake of Within the Woods comes out April 12.
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In no way, is “Army of Darkness” better than Evil Dead 2. Come on!
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I’ll grant you EDII is far more important and rightly more of a cult favorite – it’s infinitely nastier and more fun, while AOD blunts its sword swinging too far into the mainstream, almost to the point of camp. But I stand by my statement: production value, plot structure, special effects, scope, score, script… all favor AOD. Prove me wrong!
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