Army of Darkness - Director's Cut

As a loose remake of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court filmed in the style of the Three Stooges, director Sam Raimi's hopelessly juvenile effort just about scrapes by as a humdrum knockabout parody. As the second sequel to his classic Evil Dead, (showing here in a director's cut with additional footage and an alternative ending) however, it's a vapid exercise in watered-down horror kitsch that betrays the whole ethos of the sublime original. After a recap of the first two movies, Bruce Campbell battles with pit monsters, sword-wielding skeletons and his evil clone to find the sacred "Book of the Dead" that will help him escape the Dark Ages and return to the present. This cardboard comic-book fantasy has plenty of in-jokes for the discerning horror buff but little actual horror, while the second half of the movie is nothing more than an endless battle full of interminable head-banging and skull-smashing. The only unexpected shock here is how dull and ordinary it all is.