Blending almost nonstop violence with humorous parody, Sam Raimi’s latest excursion into horror-kitsch should prove a crowd-pleaser for the mall trade and perhaps a mite beyond.

Replete with thumping horse hooves, the battle cries of lusty men and the banshee screams of the living dead, Raimi's movie comes at you with a noisy, jokey swagger. Its hero even says "groovy" and gets away with it.

Here's the problem: Bruce Campbell's character is a complete stiff, and so is everyone else he meets who isn't a special effect. The result is that we couldn't care less who wins any battle in the movie no matter how inventively photographed.

"Army of Darkness" features the outlandish, unrealistic fighting style that would be adored in "Xena: The Warrior Princess."