Sam Raimi, whose latest horror film Send Help is now in theaters, has long been one of the genre’s most beloved filmmakers. It all began with the release of The Evil Dead, the movie that introduced the world to Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams. A big part of that film’s success can be attributed to fellow horror icon Stephen King, and Raimi still hasn’t forgotten that.
Raimi reflected on King’s part in launching his career during a recent interview with CinemaBlend. He shared how he was having trouble trying to sell The Evil Dead at the Cannes Film Market, perhaps because he was not yet an established filmmaker known to fans of the horror genre. It was looking bad at the time, until King wrote a glowing review for The Evil Dead, which instantly drummed up much greater interest in the movie, leading to its acquisition by New Line Cinema.
“[Stephen King] gave me my chance in the business,” Raimi explained. “When Evil Dead was trying to be sold as a, you know, a 16 millimeter blow up in the Cannes Film Market – not the festival, but the market is the shady dealings going on underneath the prestigious film festival, where buyers from Spain or Italy will buy an inexpensive American film and the the marketers knows, ‘Oh, Italy will have 200 theaters will play this kind of film.’ And they know its worth, and they make deals. They sell it. Well, nobody would touch Evil Dead with a ten foot plague pole.”
Raimi continued, “And then Stephen King happened to be in the theater in Cannes, the market. He saw it, and he gave us a great review in Twilight Zone magazine. And I was so honored because he was my giantest, largest hero, still is. He’s a tremendous influence.”
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After the original Evil Dead trilogy put Raimi on the map, the filmmaker would find more success beyond the horror genre. That notably includes the immense success of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man movie trilogy. More recently, Raimi jumped back into horror for Send Help, an R-rated feature starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. The film has seemingly proven that Raimi’s still got it, garnering high praise from both critics and filmgoers alike.
Sam Raimi’s Send Help is now playing in theaters.
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