10 Horror Movie Sequels That DITCHED The Horror

9. Army of Darkness

Happy Death Day 2U
Universal Pictures

Sam Raimi's Evil Dead is one of the most protean franchises in horror history, if not cinema as a whole.

The original The Evil Dead is a pretty straight-laced horror flick, while Evil Dead II daringly ventured into riotous slapstick-driven horror-comedy to enormous success.

For threequel Army of Darkness, Raimi switched things up again, to the extent that it can barely be called a horror movie at all - it ultimately feels like a dark fantasy action-comedy, centered around Ash (Bruce Campbell) as he battles the undead in the Middle Ages.

Army of Darkness is basically a campy fantasy film that just so happens to have time travel and Deadites in it. 

To call it a far cry from the first two films, especially the first, is quite the understatement.

However, both 2013's Evil Dead remake and 2023's Evil Dead Rise returned to the gnarlier, less-kooky thrills of the original Evil Dead - a vibe which the series now seems to have settled on, seemingly for good.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.