In Praise Of The Poster For Army Of Darkness, One Of The Greatest One-Sheets Of All Time

Even in the age of streaming, the movie poster is an essential component of prerelease marketing campaigns, aimed either at getting you to the theater or — these days — getting you to click play. As we approach the 30th anniversary of Sam Raimi's sword-and-sorcery comedy "Army of Darkness," we look back on its iconic poster art, one that star Bruce Campbell reckons he's signed a hundred million times.

The third of Raimi's blood-soaked "Evil Dead" series, "Army of Darkness" flopped at the box office in early '93, simultaneously too weird to seduce new fans and too confusing for those who were expecting more cabin-in-the-woods mayhem. Since then, it has exploded in popularity on home video and gained a cult following, gathering its foothold in the pop culture consciousness by its endless supply of quotes, spectacular production design and practical effects, and a classic movie poster immortalizing its hero in the bedrooms of film fans everywhere.

The subway two-sheet featured artist Michael Hussar's artwork, influenced by the fantasy art of maestros like "Fire and Ice" artist Frank Frazetta, depicting the belly-of-the-beast part of the Hero's Journey with Campbell's Ash sporting a smug grin, reflective of his progression from the thoughtful, romantic Ash of the earlier "Evil Dead" movies to the oafish, less-likable lead of "Darkness." He's surrounded by said army, with threats coming from the film's Harryhausen-influenced skeletons and tiny, armed, Lilliputian doppelgängers of the hero himself (both of which are presented at various lengths in the movie, depending on the cut you've seen). Clinging to his leg is Embeth Davidtz, who lent her stage bona fides to the production as damsel Sheila. Here, she echoes the likes of Princess Leia in the famous poster for "Star Wars: A New Hope," and the maidens of the sci-fi serials of decades past. Groovy.

By the time artist Michael Hussar was brought aboard to handle the poster, Universal's ad campaign was picking up the pace. The movie sat on ice for half a year as producer Dino De Laurentiis and Universal went to battle over, of all things, Hannibal Lecter. Ahead of its ultimate release in January of 1993, the studio brought Bruce Campbell in to take reference headshots for the artwork. In Bill Warren's "Evil Dead Companion" book, Campbell recalls:

"I had no idea what they were doing. I went into a studio, and they said, 'We need a kind of sly look on your face.' So I gave a whole series of stupid shots. Next thing you know, they show me a rough of this Frank Frazetta-like painting. 'We've got to approve it in a day,' they said, 'and if you don't approve it, we don't have an ad campaign.' So what were they telling me? Why did they submit it to me at all? It was frustrating because the lines of communication were not clearly drawn, and things got lost in the shuffle like crazy."

"Once you get into the studios," Campbell further observes, 'they adopt the attitude of, 'Thanks, kid. You did a nice movie. We'll take it from here.'" He credits the producer for his steadfast involvement in the production; among other treasures, it led to a jacked-up Campbell sporting his trusty boomstick and muscles upon muscles in the "Conan the Barbarian"-inspired overseas poster.

The boomstick returns to fight the undead in the latest franchise installment; though Sam Raimi and Campbell's involvement is relegated to executive producing credits under Raimi's Ghost House Pictures label, Lee Cronin's "Evil Dead Rise" promises to bring its own darkness (and buckets of blood) in April of 2023.