Movie Bashers Inc.

[_____V_____]

Completely agree with the points Doc raises. Of course the characterization and editing was somewhat different from other Argento movies, and that maybe deters some from its main theme of being a solid slasher movie.

Most of the Italian movies of those times suffered from the bad dubbing problem...which was worse in Tenebre...but dubbing notwithstanding, I thought it was a great slasher overall and had a good script and fine performances to back it up. It was a signature movie from Argento's movie-making table.

Very nicely dissected, I must say...Doc, tony and Jenna. Its good to see people appreciate and criticize a movie at the same time. This is great stuff...

Love-hate relationships have been a huge factor in many movies' popularity. Its very rare to get a movie which EVERYONE loves or EVERYONE hates (except some complete and utter crap and nonsense). The haters manage to find some positives in a movie they hate, and that is good. But yet, why do the haters find it hard to accept

Army of Darkness

in the same league of its illustrious predecessors, Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2?

After all, it added a whole new dimension to the Ash saga and built up on the horror/comedy factor of Evil Dead 2.

Then why the indifference?

Bring on the bashings!!!

[massacre man]

I've never seen anyone hate this??

[illdojo]

I have not one bad thing to say about AOD.
Ash and Army of Darkness are kick ass. :cool:

[Despare]

I've known a lot of people who really hated the direction the series went with less horror and more comedy. Personally I loved it, but I can see where people expecting the same gruesome scares of the first two films would be dissapointed. A lot of the people that I've talked to that dislike AoD (at least in comparison two the first two) feel that AoD took a different direction. I think that if you look at Evil Dead 1 & 2 first you can see the progression of the series, it's not a different direction at all, this series simply followed the course it began from the first to the second.

[jenna26]

Originally Posted by Despare

I've known a lot of people who really hated the direction the series went with less horror and more comedy. Personally I loved it, but I can see where people expecting the same gruesome scares of the first two films would be dissapointed. A lot of the people that I've talked to that dislike AoD (at least in comparison two the first two) feel that AoD took a different direction. I think that if you look at Evil Dead 1 & 2 first you can see the progression of the series, it's not a different direction at all, this series simply followed the course it began from the first to the second.

I agree.
I love Army of Darkness, but I can see why some would be disappointed by the lack of gore. Evil Dead 2 is my perfect movie. And I don't feel Army of Darkness is quite as good as the first two. But still lots of fun, and definitely a worthy entry in the series. It did, at least to me, feel like a natural progression. All three of the films have distinctly different feels, in my opinion. And I like that about them.

[Doc Faustus]

I think some fans were alienated not just by the addition of more comedy, but by the total breakdown of genre. To go from pure horror to medieval craziness is a big departure. I like Army of Darkness and think it was a gutsy move for Raimi, but not everybody is going to be into something that weird and progressive. People were also alienated by the fact that Land of the Dead was a sci-fi action piece.

[_____V_____]

Where the first one started off with out-and-out pure horror, the second managed to successfully blend some cheesy humor into the same horror scenario. Where the 3rd went was into more cheesy, black humor in a different setting than horror like the first and second.

And it was like watching Conan or Red Sonja rather than an Evil Dead sequel. Of course Ash got his "king" tag from this movie (and from the end of ED2), but as far as ED movies go...AoD was more in the lines of an entertaining comedy/horror...than a horror movie with doses of comedy.

Excellent critical bashings folks! I have to say we have some very knowledgeable members here at HDC who can successfully critically dissect a particular movie...

Speaking of which...one movie which I have seen a lot of people giving the thumbs down to...is

Phantasm

yet there are some of us who adore it.

Why do the haters hate it? What doesnt click with them? Bring on the bashing!!

[jenna26]

Honestly, I have yet to finish Phantasm, everytime I try I seem to zone out.....:p One day I really do plan to make it through that film, and the second one, because I have heard it is pretty decent.

[Doc Faustus]

I like Phantasm in spite of a lot of silliness. The plot makes almost no sense, the horror is completely hit or miss and anarchy reigns over the entire third act. Even if you get it, you're still asking "what the hell was that? An evil mortician enslaves an army of space midgets and a stoner ice cream man is the earth's last hope?" It's wacky, it's completely over-the-top, but it's fun, it's often scary and Angus Scrimm is spectacular. You need to forgive this movie its trespasses and exalt in its carnival virtues to like it.

[The_Return]

Wow Doc...I think that pretty much sums it up. Great write up:)

Phantasm is a damn fun movie...its really bizarre, but I think thats a big part of its charm.