Army of Darkness (1992)

Army of Darkness is a 1992 American dark fantasy comedy film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. It is the sequel to Evil Dead II (1987) and the third installment in the Evil Dead franchise. The film stars Bruce Campbell reprising his role from the previous films along with Embeth Davidtz. The plot follows Ash Williams as he is trapped in the Middle Ages and battles the undead in his quest to return to the present.

The film was made as part of a production deal with Universal Pictures after the financial success of Darkman (1990). Filming took place in California in 1991. The makeup and creature effects for the film were handled by two different companies: Tony Gardner and his company Alterian, Inc. were responsible for the makeup effects for Ash and Sheila, while Kurtzman, Nicotero, & Berger EFX Group was credited for the remaining special makeup effects characters. Tom Sullivan, who had previously worked on Within the Woods (1979), The Evil Dead (1981), and Evil Dead II, also contributed to the visual effects.

Army of Darkness had its premiere at the Sitges Film Festival on October 9, 1992, and was released in the United States on February 19, 1993. It grossed $22 million on an $11 million budget and received generally positive reviews from critics. Like its predecessors, the film has accumulated a large, international cult following in the years since its release.

A fourth film, Evil Dead, a soft reboot and continuation of the franchise, was released in 2013, and a fifth film, Evil Dead Rise, was released in 2023. Ash vs Evil Dead, a direct sequel to the original trilogy, premiered in 2015 and ran for three seasons.