Hail to the king, baby. “Army of Darkness” rules.

Meet Ash. Ash recently lost his wife to the “Evil Dead.” Ash sucks himself and the Evil Dead into another dimension by reciting passages from the Necronomicon.

What?

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Don’t be confused. “Army of Darkness” follows “Evil Dead 2” without any nasty transition, leaving confusion behind in a cloud of Oldsmobile exhaust.

Ash falls into a feud between two kingdoms in this alternate reality. Upon his arrival, the capturing kingdom assumes he is a witch and tosses him into a monster pit. Ash sends the pit monsters packing, crawls out of the pit and announces himself the new king by verge of his S-Mart shotgun. Shop smart … shop S-mart.

Ash (Bruce Campbell) is too cool. He’s the ultimate man’s man: funny, indestructible, smart, cunning, slightly wicked and just nice enough to cheer for. He is everything James Bond once was and still aspires to be.

His only ticket out of the 13th century is a recital from a particular Necronomicon passage. But a misread passage (“Klatoo … Verata … Necttphhhhhhhhhh …”) sends Ash fleeing and an army of the undead rising.

“Army of Darkness” climaxes in a gruesome war sequence between the undead army and the two rival kingdoms. Detractors of “Army of Darkness” might denounce the mindless gore, but horror movie fans understand the purpose. Director Sam Raimi’s use of blood is so over-the-top (“Evil Dead 2” set a record for fake blood), it comes off as satire. And that’s why the “Evil Dead” franchise works – it’s the best satire a horror film can pull off.

The original “Army of Darkness” ending worked like a “Planet Of The Apes” homage – but it worked poorly. Raimi decided to reshoot the conclusion in Ash’s S-Mart, capturing the humor, action and senselessness that is the “Evil Dead” trilogy.

“Army of Darkness” is a great movie. Gallons of blood. Bits of action. A sexy, funny script … groovy.