Last year, I was challenged that - though we have abundant engagement and expansion of the literary Appendix N of the hobby - there is entirely too little talk about the cinematic expansion of Appendix N? What films, other games, shows, radio dramas, or other media are rife for harvesting ideas out of for use in your home RPG game? So - as part of launching this series: media outside literature that can serve as inspiration - or, N-spiration, as it may be - I wanted to talk about a movie that has been a Halloween tradition at my house for as many years as my wife falls asleep early enough for me to watch it. And without further blather, reviewing Sam Raimi's...
Army of Darkness
In short, Army of Darkness can be described as Sam Raimi's gift to the world - the greatest film in the history of all cinematography. Army of Darkness has been my favorite movie - with its hokey, dark humor and gonzo presentation - since sometime in the mid 90's when my dad picked up the VHS, having watched it with me censored on the Sci Fi channel and having missed entirely how rated R the real film truly is.
In my adult life - it's become a Halloween tradition for me. Its original
release in 1993 puts it into perfect timing for a date film, but my wife
doesn't realize how good a Valentine watching Bruce Campbell drive the
Kill-Dozer through a field of undead truly is, so I'm stuck doing... the
Notebook or some other garbage - but:
About the Movie
The basic premise of the film is that our protagonist - Ash Williams - is
transported by the Neconomicon and its associated Kandarian Demon-fueled magic
into the middle ages, where he meets King Arthur, accidentally unleashes a (oh
- spoilers) horde of the undead, with whom he later does battle. The film has
action, comedy, romance, and most importantly -
Bruce Campbell,
who may be the most important actor who ever lived. There are some other
lesser known cast members - like
Embeth Davidtz, you know, from Bicentennial Man or Schindler's List; or
someone-someone
Bridget Fonda
- which is fair: but we know who carries the show. It's good to see the king.
[be the king image]
The movie has been billed and received as a horror film - but at its heart,
it's more of a comedy. The humor is puerile at times - reminiscent of
Three-Stooges at points, Tom & Jerry in others - but is always
dark and sardonic. It matches the spirit of the holiday - scary, officially; but really, it
speaks to a more callow zeitgeist - it's designed for the youthful spirit.
Why Talk Army of Darkness?
This blog is supposed to be about gaming, I thought. You thought right!
It is about gaming. So we come to the point where we ask, "What about Army of
Darkness makes it worth my time investment from the perspective of my gaming
life?" Here's why - and once you realize why, you'll be asking yourself why
you hadn't swapped out your hand for a chainsaw earlier.
First and foremost, Army of Darkness follows the adventures of a pulp hero.
The character of Ash, in departure from the previous films in the Evil Dead
series, is a cocky anti-hero. He is more confident in his abilities than his
abilities frequently present - but he thinks outside the box to solve his
problems and he grows as a hero during the course of the adventure. Further,
the adventure progresses through the classic stages of an OSR adventure:
starting out fighting in a pit, continuing overland to adventure through an
exotic site, and then culminating in a keep and mass battle - wherein
relationships with factions made prior to the event influence the outcome. The
adventure winds down after that - a sort of epilogue to the main story -
however the key is: if the adventures of Ash Williams in the land of the
Deadites doesn't make you want to run an undead-themed dee-en-dee
campaign, I don't know what will.
Second: magic mixed with technology. The film is portal-fantasy in the literal
sense. A modern man is transported via a portal (ok, fine - a vortex) into the
realm of the fantastic. In the trunk of his sedan? What a coincidence: science
books!
How much of an OSR experience is inspired by the movie, knowing it's about the one character? That is a fair criticism. Most game tables have more than one character - mostly because there is more than one player! - and knowing that, fantasy adventures produced for that experience tend to assume both a bigger party and also the use of hirelings. That in mind - Scarlet Heroes is still OSR: and like I've referenced above, there are plenty of hirelings near the end of the adventure, as well as fantastic beasts and supernatural elements that fit the sword and sorcery esthetic. And at the end of the day - the adventure you write isn't going to be the film you are drawing inspiration from: it will be tailored to your expected party and fit into your campaign world according to that inspiration. And if a film inspires you to run a game? That's the name of the game.
Is that really a good reason? Good? Bad? I'm the guy with the blog.
Conclusion
Bruce Campbell vs the Army of Darkness is, unarguably, among the masterpieces of cinematic history. In addition, it is a great inspiration for the game that you never knew you needed to run. For that reason, I rate it highly. On a scale of one to Army of Darkness, well... it's itself.
Hail to the king, readers.
Army of Darkness, written by Sam and Ivan Raimi. produced by Dino De Laurentiis Communications, Introvision International, and Renaissance Pictures, and originally distributed by Universal Pictures is copyrighted, 1992, to Dino De Laurentiis Communications.Incidentally pictured are Evil Dead and Evil Dead II (copyright New Line Cinema) and Bubba Ho-Tep (copyright MGM).
Army of Darkness: The Card Game, designed by M. Alexander Jurkat and George Vasilakos and published by Eden Studios is copyrighted to MGM and Eden Studios, 2004, respectively.
Images included herein are property of their respective owners - disclosed to the best of my ability - and included for review purposes under US Title 17, section 107.
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