Travelling back in time, far away from the intimate cabin in the woods setting, we have Army of Darkness AKA Evil Dead III. Now in a much more open (and medieval) world, this film took things to the next level. Giving us deadites by the hundreds, effects that completely trumped its predecessors, not to mention, going completely slapstick with the franchise in the best way possible.
Given the stories from the goings-on behind the camera for the previous two Evil Dead movies, it’s no surprise that this larger production had its own fair share of difficulties as well as interesting tales to tell. From a main cast member losing eleven pounds in one day to studio interference which led to the movie’s ending having to be completely reshot, we’ll be taking a look at behind the scenes for the third instalment to the Evil Dead franchise. . . Groovy.
The Main ‘Book Of The Dead’ Went Missing Before They Started Shooting
The book of the dead AKA the Necronomicon is synonymous with the Evil Dead franchise. Some fans recognized straight away that the book in Army of Darkness differed in appearance from that of Evil Dead II. Although never fully clarified why this was, things like its size being increased to allow Ash to climb out of it in a certain scene seems reasonable enough.
There was one particular aspect of the book that would have made it pretty much identical to the previous novella’s. . . the content. Those familiar with the Necronomicon will know as well as being bound in flesh, it’s also inked in blood, with horrific artwork to match. Aptly named the “hero book”, one of five books had a fully handwritten/hand drawn interior to match the previous movies renditions as best as possible.
In the final version, however, we never get to see the inside of this movie’s book and instead get a flashback to the book’s interior from Evil Dead II. The reason for this being, the book with all the designs went missing before they even started filming, Anthony Tremblay (production designer) reflects in an interview:
That book vanished, sometime early in the production and it was never shot. So that book is not in the film at all. We had to scramble and make a new, so-called hero book, but it didn’t have all these elaborate pages in it, we just didn’t have time to do it, so, that was always very disappointing.
There Was A Huge Accident Whilst Filming The Opening Scene
The opening scene sees Ash crash land in Medieval times, along with his car (Sam Raimi’s Oldsmobile). To accomplish this scene, the car had to be held up by a crane and hovered over a quarry, ready to be released on action. Unfortunately, the weight of the car to crane ratio was misjudged and the whole crane went toppling into the quarry itself, luckily the operator was able to jump out just in time.
A second, bigger crane was then used to accomplish the scene. However, even though they did end up achieving the shot, they still weren’t happy with it. After all their time and energy trying to get the best shot possible none of the new shots ended up being used. Instead, they ultimately decided to re-use the footage from Evil Dead II’s ending, feeling they had already perfected the shot about five years prior.
Bruce Campbell Could Not Ride His Horse Well
Army of Darkness saw Bruce Campbell pushing himself like never before. Being in the best physical shape he’d ever been, but also learning new skills for his character Ash’s new Medieval setting, one of which included learning to ride a horse.
Although Campbell would later star in the series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr where he would ride a horse with confidence, at this stage in his career, he wasn’t the best. In fact, he cites he was very grateful that his character wore a cape whilst on horseback as it disguised the air between his “ass” and the saddle.
In an interview, Campbell stated he would always be getting slammed up and down whilst riding the horse, describing the whole ordeal as:
The ass-saddle-battle is what they called it.
Campbell even got thrown off the horse on one occasion, which could be considered lucky given his lack of experience.
Ted Raimi Played Four Different Characters
In a lot of movies, directors will tend to have their own trademarks, so for Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell will generally make an appearance, so will Sam’s car, but ever since Evil Dead II, so does Raimi’s little brother Ted. Playing a possessed Henrietta in the previous movie, Ted definitely played more of a prominent role, but what he lacks in a character’s importance this time around, he makes up for in how many roles he actually plays.
A lot of fans may have spotted him as the S-Mart clerk a mile off, but are unaware he also played the cowardly warrior, supportive villager and brave fighter. He even lent his voice to numerous skeleton soldiers, so in short, Ted Raimi was all over this picture.
His big brother and director Sam Raimi also played a small role, voicing Evil Ash in his final skeleton form.
‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s’ Bill Mosely Wrote To Sam Raimi Asking For A Part
Unlike its predecessors, this movie had a lot more parts to dish out. One part, in particular, was actually given to an actor from another horror franchise, Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Bill Mosely AKA Chop Top. Mosely was apparently a big fan of the previous Evil Dead instalments and just had to be in the next one, he reflects in an interview:
I made a scorpion vow, I’m a scorpio, I don’t even know what a scorpion vow is, but I made a scorpion vow that I was gonna be in the next Evil Dead movie.
And with that Mosely wrote to Raimi who turned out to be a fan of Mosely’s Chop Top character. So, after the two were done admiring each other, Raimi went ahead and asked Mosely to audition for the captain of the deadite army, alongside Evil Ash. An English accent was a prerequisite for the character, but thankfully Mosely prepared a monologue from Terry Gilliam’s Jabberwocky and it secured him the role.
A similar incident happened with Bridgette Fonda who was also a fan of the previous movies. Fonda’s agent reached out before production started and just asked to be kept in the loop if another Evil Dead movie was in the works. And with that, she ended up playing (the third rendition of) Ash’s girlfriend Linda in Army of Darkness.
Roars From A Nearby Cat Reserve Ruined Shots Whilst Filming
It is quite common in the age we live in, that certain shots will get ruined by things occurring off-camera, a cell phone going off, a plane passing over, even someone with an uncontrollable cough. On the set of Army of Darkness, however, some scenes were spoilt now and again from something quite out of the ordinary. . .
Not too far from where Army of Darkness was shooting in southern California, was Tippi Hedren’s Shambala big-cat preserve. This preserve consists of numerous lions and tigers (no bears), which proved problematic when filming certain scenes. Especially at night, as their roars would carry over to set, Howard Berger (make-up and special effects) reflects in an interview:
You would hear them roaring and roaring and all night long you would hear lions roaring and tigers roaring.
This ended up (on more than one occasion) ruining intimate scenes between Ash and Shiela.
Bruce Campbell Was (Once Again) Tortured By Sam Raimi On Set
In the first two movies, Campbell was really given the business in terms of what was required from him physically, throwing himself around, being battered and bruised on the regular, Ted Raimi reflects in an interview:
He [Campbell] will throw himself into the part and by that most people mean they’ll really give it their all, but Bruce ACTUALLY throws him-self at the part.
Perhaps what was most noteworthy, was that director Sam Raimi (as usual) would always be first in line when it came to inflicting pain and torment on Campbell. Army of Darkness certainly didn’t break this tradition, Howard Berger (Make-up and SFX) confirms in an interview:
Sam loves to torture Bruce, like, he loves torturing him.
Apparently, during the scene where you see Ash get slapped by numerous skeleton hands and gets roughed up by the mischievous book, anytime it looked like he was actually being struck, that’s because he was, and it was all Raimi. Only, on the set of this film, something happened for the first time. . . Campbell snapped! Berger recalls in an interview:
And I think, finally, Bruce just went “Alright, Sam I’ve had enough, we’ve got it pal.”
This was quickly followed by Raimi commending Campbell for being such a good sport.
A Cast Member Lost 11 Pounds In One Day Due To The Heat
Unlike the first two movies, Army of Darkness takes place in a cabinless location. Southern California was used for the movies new medieval setting, the majority of which is in desert-like surroundings. This wasn’t the best when it came to long shooting days, Richard Grove (Duke Henry the Red) reflects in an interview:
The conditions of working on Army of Darkness were not particularly pleasant. If you’ve ever been in the high desert in Southern California in the spring and in the summer, the days are hot and then as soon as the sun goes down it’s cold.
The actor who perhaps felt the brunt of the heat the most was actor Marcus Gilbert (Lord Arthur) who, as well as filming out in the open during the day, was also completely covered from head to toe in aluminium armour. This not only increased the temperature from about 110 degrees to 130 for the actor – making him sweat profusely – but also caused Gilbert to lose a tremendous amount of weight whilst shooting, he reflects in an interview:
I remember weighing myself at the end of the day and that one day’s filming, I’d lost eleven pounds, you know, in water I guess.
Two Extras Were Caught “Fooling Around” On Set
With the smaller size of the previous Evil Dead movies, there was one thing the cast and crew didn’t really have to deal with, Extras. Not only that, but because of the more intimate setting, they knew where the cast and crew were at all times.
Seeing as Army of Darkness was a much bigger production, supporting artists had to be brought on board. Due to the much bigger open space of the set itself, this led to extras wandering off regularly between takes. There was even an instance where an extra flat out refused to listen to director Sam Raimi, citing he’d had enough and walked off set.
However, in an interview with Bruce Campbell, he recalls a particular incident involving a couple of extras that definitely tops the rest:
We caught two extras having sex, inside the castle.
This films location was essentially in the middle of the desert, so as soon as you walked off set, you’d be cloaked by darkness and by the sounds of things, some extras certainly took advantage of that fact!
Hospital Staff Didn’t Know Which Of Bruce Campbell’s Injuries Were Real
Out of all the physical trials and tribulations Bruce Campbell was put through during filming, it’s funny to think the worst injury he incurred was. . . a cut to the chin.
This occurred when Campbell caught his chin on the chest plate worn by Ash, causing it to split (his chin not the plate). However, when Campbell went to the hospital, it was straight from the set, so he still had all the fake scars and grazes on his face from shooting. At first, the hospital staff had no idea which cut they were supposed to sew up (a testament to the make-up team for sure).
What made matters even worse, was the armour that caused the incident was made by costume designer Ida Gearon. . . Campbell’s wife! Gearon remembers being absolutely beside herself in an interview:
Believe me, oh my god, to cut the leading actors face with your costume is the worst thing that could happen to a costume designer, and my husband’s face as well!
Luckily it was patched up and simply made up to fit in with the rest of Ash’s scars.
The Production Ran Out Of Money So They Had To Shoot A Key Scene In A Garage
Saying that this movie went bigger than its predecessors would be an understatement. Taking place in an open world outside of a cabin, extending the cast by the hundreds and being set in medieval times, it might not be surprising that production eventually ran out of money. Luckily all of their key scenes had been filmed. . . except one.
This scene involved Ash going toe-to-toe with a possessed witch of sorts. However, the original scripted version saw the battle take place with a much grander location, out in the open, surrounded by mighty pillars. Not only that, but the fight itself was more elaborate, at one stage Ash was to throw a log into the witch’s mouth, causing her cheeks to blow up in a cartoonish-like style, before spitting it out. Several heads were even designed to achieve this effect, unfortunately by the time filming began, the scene had to be scrapped due to budget restraints.
Whilst editing the movie, however, they had a change of heart about the scene, Greg Nicotero (make-up and special effects) reflects in an interview:
When they cut the movie together, they were like, we want that scene back, but we don’t need to make it as elaborate, so let’s put a version of that scene back in.
This meant ditching the interchangeable heads with the extending mouths, toning down the make-up and changing the location. Howard Berger (make-up and special effects) confirms in an interview where the new location took place for that particular scene:
And that was shot like in a garage, like a car garage, like, for two days.
Certainly a testament to the skills behind the production designers and the resourcefulness of director Sam Raimi!
Bruce Campbell’s Marriage Was Put To The Test Whilst Filming
After Bruce Campbell met costume designer Ida Gearon on his previous movie ‘Mind Warp’ it wasn’t long before the two hit it off and became an item. Not only did ‘Army of Darkness’ see the return of Campbell, but Gearon was also brought on board to handle costume.
Gearon confirms in an interview why the two decided to get married before production began:
We actually decided to get married before we did Army of Darkness. . . because we felt we wouldn’t make it through Army of Darkness.
Given this particular production’s laborious and exhaustive working conditions, in retrospect this might not have been the best idea for the new couple, Campbell reflects in an interview:
To be thrust together, working on a shoot like that was very stressful for everybody, it almost. . . almost finished us.
Thankfully, this was not the case and the two remain together to this day!
Production Completely Forgot About Richard Groves’ Finale
As has been proven, on the set of Sam Raimi’s movies, things don’t necessarily always go to plan or even follow a particular schedule. Due to the director’s spontaneity, it wasn’t rare for ideas to be conceived on the spot and shot then and there, however, this can sometimes interfere with scenes that are imperative to the story.
This was precisely the case with Richard Grove’s (Duke Henry the Red) finale. Grove’s final scene sees him come to the rescue with his army to battle the deadites. Unfortunately, by the time they remembered they had to shoot this scene, Grove was already off set being driven home. This led the crew that was with Grove at the time to think on their feet.
They ended up pulling over to the side of the road in the middle of the desert, got him dressed up, put him on a saddle on top of a platform, gave him a mace and filmed a close-up of him obliterating a deadite in slow-motion. All this, while a couple of crew members rocked him from side to side to simulate being atop a horse.
Grove confirms the location of the “seamless” scene in an interview:
So that scene, was shot on a side of a interstate, California road.
Bruce Campbell Says It’s The Most Grueling Production He’s Ever Worked On
It’s no secret to Evil Dead fans that Bruce Campbell is really given the business, physically when playing Ash, the third instalment however saw him being tested mentally too. As well as being thrown about and subjected to stunt related violence regularly, he also had to endure prosthetics and multiple kinds of make-up. Apparently which Campbell isn’t the biggest fan of, Howard Berger confirms in an interview:
Bruce doesn’t love being in make-up, but Bruce will be in make-up and go through it and be amazing.
Unfortunately for Campbell, it’s this dedication that got him put through four hours of make-up (three hours to apply, one hour to remove) for his Evil Ash character. Accompany this with a fourteen-hour shooting day and Campbell would literally pass out at the end of the day. This was usually quickly followed by a knock at his door and before Campbell knew it, it was already the next day and he had to do it all over again.
Bruce Campbell reflects on his gruelling experience in an interview:
It was probably, I would say, the most physically uncomfortable movie in the history of motion pictures, and I’m just gonna say that. And any other actor can kiss my ass loud and hard. The only guy I have sympathy for is Ron Pearlman.
Studio Interference Resulted In Numerous Cuts And A Completely Different Ending Being Shot
After Army of Darkness was complete, Dino De Laurentiis – the financer for both this movie and Evil Dead II – was amidst a financial battle with universal studios over the rights to Hannibal Lecter, as he made Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs was getting released without his say so.
Unfortunately, Army of Darkness ended up being caught between pillar and post during the quarrel and pretty much just sat there for a year. Once things resumed, Universal started interfering with the movie, making cuts, using alternate lines, they even (bizarrely) changed the title to Army of Darkness as they didn’t want it to reference the first two movies, causing a lot of confusion amongst fans and audience members.
The biggest change however was when the movie was screened for test audiences and they didn’t respond positively to the original ending. The original finale saw Ash take too many drops before going into hibernation, only to wake up in a dystopian future that has been completely destroyed and realizes he slept too long.
Once Universal got wind of the negative feedback, they ordered a new, more upbeat ending to be shot. The new ending would end up showing Ash back to his groovy self, working at S-Mart and kicking some deadite ass. Bruce Campbell reflects on their lack of resistance at this stage in an interview:
We’re like whatever, by that point it didn’t matter, we had had such a miserable experience with that movie, of course, they wanna shoot a new ending.
Ted Raimi also shared his thoughts where the alternate ending was concerned in an interview:
I personally preferred the first grim one, because the reshot sequence, the world pays off for Ash, has a happy ending, Ash gets to do the only thing he knows how to do, fight monsters and he gets the pretty girl. Audiences certainly preferred this, I did not because I didn’t feel that was in line with who he was.
Funnily enough, the original cut, along with the original ending for the movie is what made it in front of European audiences, whereas US audiences got the studio version. The latter would end up making more sense when it came to Ash vs Evil Dead as it told a continuation of the S-Mart story.
The Ratings Board Got Their Revenge For ‘Evil Dead II’ On This Picture
With Evil Dead II, in order to get around input from the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), Sam Raimi created a fictitious releasing company known as Rosebud Releasing. Whilst shooting ‘Army of Darkness’, Raimi’s mindset had changed somewhat and he instead made the movie very toned down compared to its predecessors, with little to no blood, in the hope of landing a PG-13 rating.
Much to the confusion of Raimi and the rest of his crew, the rating board still came back with an R rating, not specifying what to cut and instead, stating “it’s the cumulative effect.” It became very apparent at this point that the board still hadn’t gotten over the way things were handled with Evil Dead II, Howard Berger (makeup and special effects) confirms in an interview:
It’s kind of interesting, I don’t know why the ratings board would even attack the movie, other than they were seeking vengeance from Evil Dead one and Evil Dead two.
Editor, Bob Murawski reflects on the irony of the whole situation in an interview:
I think in retrospect, had Sam known it was gonna get an R rating anyway, he would have pushed things more, you know, we would have just gone for it.
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