I would definitely classify Army of Darkness as a horror movie. Yes, it definitely has elements of humor, but I believe that the basic plot, the theme of the Gothic Other as well as Gothic Quest, and characters (the deadites and the Necronomicon) moves this film into the realm of the horror genre.
While some might argue that it diverges into the realm of fantasy, I would argue that the magical elements that would qualify it toward fantasy are more macabre and dark, therefore pushing it in a horror direction. I would also argue that there are elements of comedy, but these elements do not override the ubiquitous intent of the film. While it definitely follows Evil Dead 2 as a lampooning of the horror genre, it does, in fact, serve as a horror film.
...
HOWEVER
...
I have often argued for the
other side of this debate, that Army of Darkness is
not a horror movie. The only time that I make this claim, however, is when it is explicitly being compared with Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2. Usually the triad of films are brought up as Raimi's veritable Three Ringed Horror Opus, and THIS is when I have issue with Army being considered a horror film. It does not attempt to do what its two predecessors did. In Evil Dead, Raimi was making a haunted house film. In ED 2, he was lampooning his attempts at making a haunted house film while at the same time creating an even MORE effective (in my opinion) haunted house film. AOD, however, takes the lampooning element to a whole different level and creates a different branch of horror than the original two. It is no longer a haunted house film, and it definitely uses cheap slapstick and one-liners to create comedy (as opposed to ED 2, which used situational absurdity to create irony and humor) that seem to override the horror elements that so saturated the previous two films.
SO, I would say that as an organic unit taken by
itself, Army of Darkness is certainly a horror film.
But when taken as part of the triology, I do not view it as so. Evil Dead is horror. Evil Dead 2 is parody/homage but still horror. And, in that light, Army of Darkness is Action/Siege/Comedy.
And, uhm... Yay for
Thanksgiving!