Summary
- “The Evil Dead trilogy’s final film, Army of Darkness, has two distinct endings that highlight its shift from horror to action.”
- “Sam Raimi initially preferred the darker ‘slept too long’ ending, while Universal insisted on a more upbeat conclusion for theatrical release.”
- “The theatrical ending is considered canon and aligns with the campy action tone of Army of Darkness and subsequent continuations in the franchise.”
The Evil Dead trilogy has a complex relationship with the two vastly different alternate endings of Army of Darkness. The movie, which capped off director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy, is something of an outlier in the film series. Not only is it the only installment to drop “Evil Dead” from its title, it’s also the most distant from its horror roots. Army of Darkness sees Bruce Campbell’s Ash sucked through a portal into medieval England, where he’s forced to rally an army against a fresh tide of demonic deadites.
While the film features enough horror to honor its low-budget splatter roots, there’s a heavier focus on action which sees Ash Williams take a decisive turn away from horror protagonist and into action hero territory. While one ending strikes a haunting and melancholy tone, the other plays into Army of Darkness’ tongue-in-cheek action. The film’s two endings demonstrate the dissonance between the trilogy’s tonal roots and where it ends up. It’s worth exploring how Army of Darkness came to have two well-known endings, what they seem to say about the franchise, and which one canonically happened before Ash vs Evil Dead.
Army Of Darkness Has 2 Different Endings
The first ending that Sam Raimi shot for Army of Darkness strikes a far darker tone than its counterpart. After being given a sleeping potion and express instructions to take exactly six drops in order to wake up in his own time, Ash takes his converted car to a remote cave and doses himself with the potion. However, in true Ash fashion, he messes up; the hero miscounts his drops, causing him to wake up in a post-apocalyptic future England, where he cries out “I slept too long!” before letting out a maniacal laugh over the film’s credits.
The second ending, which can be seen in the theatrical cut of the film, is decidedly less downcast. After Ash bids goodbye to his medieval sweetheart, the film fades to Ash back in the modern day, working at the S-Mart supermarket and explaining the story of his adventure. However, Ash misspoke the words of the Necronomicon once again, causing a deadite to attack him in the middle of the store. An over-the-top action sequence ensues, complete with one-liners and shotgun virtuosity. Ash finally dispatches the deadite before proclaiming “hail to the king, baby” as he kisses an interested female co-worker.
Why Sam Raimi Made 2 Endings For Army Of Darkness
Sam Raimi wanted the original “slept too long” ending of Army of Darkness to be used. However, the executives at Universal weren’t on board with the downbeat ending, feeling that it was too depressing, with Ash worse off in the end than when he started. They insisted that the Army of Darkness team write and shoot a more upbeat ending for theatrical release. The two endings represent the warring sensibilities of the Evil Dead franchise. The series, which changes genres with every sequel, goes from straightforward horror in Evil Dead to horror-comedy in Evil Dead 2 to action-horror-comedy in Army of Darkness.
The original ending is more in line with the dark and twisted horror element that runs through all three Evil Dead films. However, the theatrical ending is more in line with the campy action which arises as the dominant quality of Army of Darkness. As such, it’s easy to understand why Raimi, who sees the somewhat disjointed Evil Dead films as one continuous unit, would prefer an ending that honors the franchise’s roots. Likewise, it’s easy to see why Universal, who wanted Army of Darkness to work as a standalone sequel that could attract fresh fans, would prefer the ending that feels most consistent with the film that precedes it.
Which Army Of Darkness Ending Is Canon To Evil Dead’s Reboot Movies & TV Show?
The Evil Dead franchise has seen numerous screen continuations, with varying responses to the canon of the original trilogy. The two remake films, 2013’s Evil Dead and 2022’s Evil Dead Rise do not acknowledge the events of the Evil Dead Trilogy. The most high-profile canonical follow-up to the trilogy is the Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead, which continues the story of Bruce Campbell’s Ash. The show, which takes place in the modern day, implicitly confirms Army of Darkness’ theatrical ending as canon. However, before Ash vs Evil Dead’s cancelation, the show was positioned to pay homage to the original ending by placing the characters in a post-apocalyptic setting.
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