A few friends go to an abandoned cabin in the mountains (of course). Nothing but a forest around. They want to have fun, but it won’t be a nice time for them … Oh, no. But this film entertains viewers, now even more than in the 1980s. Over time, it has taken on a patina like some old furniture, you know … a little bit eaten by bark beetles, but nice, and they have been in the family for a long time and we all like them.
Raimi, at the age of 22, created the horror I describe above, Evil Dead. This film then had sequels, a few games, and the status of “cult”.
The family claims that little Sam wanted to make films almost from the moment he was born on October 23, 1959. And not just any. He was interested in horror, horror, supernatural phenomena and the like. Such interests are unlikely to be found in children. But Sam Raimi is special. He knew perfectly well from the very beginning what he wanted to do in life. As early as 1979 he founded the production company Renaissance Pictures. Almost everything you touch turns into gold because it gives viewers “diamonds”, which are good and interesting movies.
Suffice it to mention such productions as Darkman (1990), the thriller A Simple Plan (1998), horror films The Gift (2000), Gates to Hell (2009), the fantasy film Oz: the great and the mighty (2013). The three parts of Spiderman (2002-07) also turned out to be a success . Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled to premiere in 2022 .
Sam Raimi is also a talented writer (eg Spiderman 3 ) and producer. He also occasionally appears in (very) episodic roles. He has worked as a producer on series such as the one about Xena, the warrior princess and Hercules.
He is a devoted fan of a group of comedians active from the 1920s to 1970s, and the attentive fan will see references to them in some of Raimi’s films. Other tastes are the yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 car seen in many of his films. The hallmark of his films is horror combined with humor. It has its own characteristic way of running the camera, with frequent close-ups on the face.
I like it when I can really use my imagination and be an active participant in building a monster and it is usually in a supernatural or a fantasy world, which is why such stories about demons and supernatural charm appeal to me. Or maybe I’m really interested in this topic.
What can you wish for Sam Raimi? Probably just the right budget so that he can implement all his innovative ideas. How do you think?
