Army of Darkness

Join this week’s guest Centaur Write Satyr author of the Underground Designs Substack and I on the sixth episode of In Kino Veritās — a podcast where the guest picks a film, we both watch, and discuss.

We don’t simply review films but dive deep into their themes, characters and cultural context. In this episode we explore the 1992 Comedy-Horror film Army of Darkness. A film that’s simply fun & doesn’t take itself to seriously. We enjoy the madness and let the conversation divagate as we please.

Be sure to check Centaur’s new book!

Where you can stream Army of Darkness

(Use your local library to get a physical copy for free)

Main Points

• Who’s Centaur Write Satyr? Substack essayist on aesthetics-meets-politics (“werewolf takeover,” Super Bowl conspiracies, parenting), co-author with Plebe de Maistre, just released the satire novel Pandemonia.

• Satyr’s film choice: Army of Darkness (1993) — Sam Raimi’s medieval horror-comedy; $11 M budget, theatrical cut 81 min; Bruce Campbell returns as chainsaw-handed Ash; legendary stop-motion and rubber-suit effects.

• Quick synopsis: Grumpy S-Mart clerk Ash is vortex-yeeted to 1300 AD, must recite “Klaatu Barada Nikto” to grab the Necronomicon and go home; flubs the words, unleashes his evil doppelgänger and a skeleton horde; rallies knights with 20th-century boomstick bravado.

• Spoilers past this point

• Three-Stooges slapstick meets Ray Harryhausen skeletons; a gag nearly every minute; practical gore ages better than early-’90s CGI.

• Pure genre-conflation fun—no Marvel-style wink—just chainsaws, quips, and “Hail to the king, baby.”

• Ash as everyman hero: Resourceful blue-collar survivor facing man vs book (Necronomicon), man vs self (evil Ash), then rescuing civilization with working-class ingenuity.

• Influence & legacy: Direct inspiration for Doom and Duke Nukem one-liners, Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead, James Gunn’s tonal mix, and Peter Jackson’s Helm’s Deep siege choreography.

• Practical-effects time capsule: Stop-motion skeleton army, split-screen twin Ash, and Oldsmobile catapult beats the dated CGI of contemporaries like Blade.

• Cousin films: Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, RoboCop, Starship Troopers, The Fifth Element—all mixing pulp action with satire.

• Favorite set pieces:
  • Windmill mirror-room and “tiny Ash” mayhem
  • Graveyard “Klaatu Barada… [n-word?]” flub
  • Medieval car-and-chemistry montage
  • Skeleton siege with exploding arrows and spinning sword-copter Oldsmobile
  • S-Mart finale shoot-out: “Shop smart—shop S-Mart!”

• Soundtrack shout-out: Joseph LoDuca’s heroic score + Danny Elfman’s “March of the Dead” give B-movie stakes A-level bombast.

• Personal parallels: Satyr once stashed weed in an Army of Darkness lunchbox; Theon discovered Ash memes online — both of us credit the film for valuing humor amid horror.

• Closing plugs: Read Satyr’s Pandemonium on Amazon; follow his Substack; subscribe to Ultimatum for more In Kino Veritas episodes.

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