Directors who are at the beginning of their careers often have a hard time. In the case of Sam Raimi, it was Stephen King who helped make a now legendary horror movie famous.
If you ask horror fans today about their favorite movies, there’s a good chance that Evil Dead is among them. The film is known by its original title Evil Dead and was first released in 1981.
Today, the film is an absolute cult classic, which is largely due to its quirky humor and absurd level of violence. In fact, Evil Dead was on Germany’s list of youth-endangering media until 2016. Many of the effects look delightfully amateurish by today’s standards, but that adds to the charm of the film.
For director Sam Raimi, Evil Dead meant his breakthrough. However, the prospects seemed far from bright at first. What few can imagine today: No one wanted to see the film – until Stephen King came along.
The most recent installment of the Evil Dead franchise was released in 2023 and has also made it into our recommendations. Here you can see the trailer:
The Word of the Horror Master
What does Stephen King have to do with it? In a conversation with CinemaBlend, Sam Raimi talked about the influence of the famous author on his own work. It actually began right at the start, namely with the promotion of Evil Dead.
After the film was completed, Raimi took it to the Cannes Film Festival, where there is a film market. Typically, rights and licenses for the release of new films in various countries are sold there. According to Raimi, no one was interested in his work.
Until Stephen King suddenly appeared:
Stephen King happened to be in the cinema in Cannes at the film market. He saw the film and wrote a fantastic review for us in the magazine “Twilight Zone.” That was a huge honor for me because he was my biggest hero – and still is. He has had a tremendous influence on me.
Sam Raimi
At a time when VHS tapes were the common medium for home viewing, covers and especially the praises on them mattered a lot.
It was natural to use a statement from Stephen King and make it advertising for Evil Dead. Thus, a simple but very telling quote made its way onto the packaging:
“The most original horror film of the year.”
Five simple words that were absolutely enough to give Evil Dead the boost it needed.
What impact did King’s help have? The VHS quickly found its way into video stores in the USA, and soon the film spread worldwide and became a cult classic.
King’s praise was not unfounded. Evil Dead managed to go down in film history, despite a low budget of only about $350,000 according to IMDb – equivalent to about $1.3 million today, thanks to creative camera work and impactful, handmade effects.
To date, there have been four official sequels and the series Ash vs Evil Dead. Another film will follow in 2026. Besides, Evil Dead has become indispensable in popular culture, also due to the help of Stephen King. The success of the film is also founded in a place that is sadly vanishing today: Former video stores had a major advantage that Netflix or Amazon Prime will always lack
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