Summary
It has been more than two years since director Sam Raimi’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswas released, and we finally have an update on what his next project is.Raimi is set to return to horror, which is his area of expertise. As a fan of horror films, I couldn’t be more excited to know that Raimi will be revisiting the genre that kick-started his career in Hollywood. Ever since his feature film directorial debut in 1977 withIt’s Murder!,Raimi has, arguably, left a bigger mark on Hollywood horror than any other director.
Raimi’s directorial resume is littered with cult favorites and Halloween-season go-to’s, andhe is most famous for his creation ofThe Evil Deadfranchise, which remains popular more than 40 years after its inception. Raimi, however, hasn’t directed a horror film since 2009, despite his success when doing so. While his legacy is generally tied to his threeSpider-Manfilms from the early-aughts, horror has been his most enduring genre in which to direct. Accordingly, it’s not insignificant that he’s finally returning to it, and I’m excited about his long-awaited return.
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Sam Raimi Is Reportedly Directing A New Horror Movie Called “Send Help”
It Will Be His First Actual Horror Movie since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell
We don’t currently know much aboutSend Help, the current title of Raimi’s recently-announced next project, but as a lover of his other horror entries, I am already excited about following this project’s development. What we do know, at this point, is that it has been described as this:
“[Send Helpfalls] somewhere between Rob Reiner’s…Miseryand Robert Zemeckis’ classicCastaway.” - Sam Raimi
It is an interesting premise, and it’s honestly shocking that such a movie hasn’t already been made. If anyone is capable of turning this idea into cinematic reality, though, it is Sam Raimi, who continues to redefine horror movie expectations.Raimi’s last horror movie,Drag Me to Hell, came out in 2009when I was still a pre-teen, and I’m so ready to fully appreciate, as an adult, a new horror title from the mastermind himself.
Drag Me to Hellwas full of hair-raising jumpscares, and it was well-received by audiences and critics alike. It was the culmination of a career’s worth of talent-honing, which only makes it more curious that Raimi would step away from directing horror movies for as long as he did.
Why Sam Raimi Hasn’t Directed A Horror Movie In 15 Years
He Directed Projects in Other Genres and Produced - Not Directed - Horror Films
When I first heard the buzz around his return to horror, I was confused. Only upon learning that the hype was specifically focused on hisdirectinghistory did it make sense. Raimi has been involved in plenty of horror projects, but as a producer, not a director. In fact, while Raimi has found success outside the horror genre, a majority of his recent work has been horror or horror-adjacent. While producing a film requires far less creative input than helming a film as its director does,Raimi’s influence on the horror genre in the last 15 years is unmistakable.
In the interim, Raimi has been involved in such projects asSpartacus,Legend of the Seeker,Oz the Great and Powerful,The Jungle Book, andBoy Kills World. While generally free of things that go bump in the night, these projects illustrated Raimi’s boundless knack for storytelling. Thankfully, for us fans of Raimi’s horror inclinations, his most recent non-horror film -Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness- features the undertones and overall theming of his expertiseas a scary-story-teller.
Doctor Strange 2 Was Good, But Send Help Is The Sam Raimi Movie I’ve Been Waiting For
His Horror Influence Was Felt All Throughout Doctor Strange 2; I’m Ready for the Real Deal, Though
One of the most enduring bits of discourse surroundingDoctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madnessis how different, tonally, it is from all the other entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Specifically,Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswas lauded for introducing genuine horror into the MCU. This emphasis on scariness was Sam Raimi’s doing, and I’m so glad he was given the opportunity to bring his twisted vision to the MCU. It’s almost agonizing, though: To be teased with bits of gory, grotesque glory without being treated to a full-fledged Raimi horror movie.
If nothing else,Doctor Strange in theMultiverse of Madnessjust proves that Raimi hasn’t lost his touch. It deftly incorporates creepy fourth-wall breaks, out-of-body possession, zombification, corporeal petrification, nightmare manipulation, and so many more tenets that are horror movie classics. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and it was refreshing to experience Raimi’s tackling of his favorite kind of film. As more and more details come out aboutSend Help, be sure to keep an eye on my writing, as I’ll be sure to keep all the Raimi-heads out there updated on what to expect.
Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness
Cast
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follows Doctor Strange as he navigates diverse and perilous alternate realities in the Multiverse with the aid of mystical allies. Directed by Sam Raimi, this installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduces a mysterious new adversary.
