Road To ‘Ash Vs. Evil Dead’ Begins With ‘Army Of Darkness’ Revisit

Ash vs. Evil Dead is probably the most highly anticipated horror project of the year. It’s been a really long time since Deadites have gotten to see their favorite chainsaw-wielding madman tearing up demonic minions.

In fact, the last time it happened was in 1992. So what has Ash been up to for the last 23 years? Fans will find out on October 31 when Starz premieres the first of 10 episodes of the new limited series.

But in the meantime, Scream Factory has some big news. They’re releasing a 3-disc collectors edition of Army of Darkness on Blu-Ray ahead of the premiere, and some of these special features are sure to get fans parting with their $27.

On disc one, there is a hi-def master of the original theatrical version in the original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. There is also Medieval Times: The Making of Army of Darkness, a brand new special feature with interviews from series star Bruce Campbell, as well as actors Marcus Gilbert, Ted Raimi, Timothy Quill, Richard Grove, Bill Moseley, Patricia Tallman, Angela Featherstone, and a whole slew of others that made the film possible both in front of and behind the camera.

There’s also the original ending and original opening/deleted scenes with an optional commentary from director Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.

Disc two of the Ash vs. Evil Dead primer will feature a director’s cut version of the film that runs 15 minutes longer than the theatrical. It also features behind the scenes documentaries and commentaries.

Rounding out the set will be a third version — the “International Cut” of Army of Darkness — and it will boast a 4K scan of the International inter-positive, a big deal for those of you with 4K TVs. This disc won’t stop there, though. In addition to the main version, which will be seven minutes longer than the theatrical, it will boast a TV version with additional footage and a variety of still galleries and storyboards.

Ordering from the company’s website will also be the option of getting the release two weeks earlier. (Everyone else has to wait until Oct. 27.)

The only downside to this release is that it may have come several years too late for those of you who bought and enjoyed the old Anchor Bay Entertainment 3-disc.

Of course, that was DVD, and this is the first time a release of Army of Darkness has been handled to this magnitude on the superior Blu-Ray format, so keep that in mind as you move closer to Halloween’s launch of Ash vs. Evil Dead.

[Image via Army of Darkness screen grab]