It’s no surprise that right now, all people seem to want to talk to Sam Raimi about is the MCU, with his new time travel movie Doctor Strange 2 hitting theatres on May 5. But, it’s worth remembering there is a new Evil Dead movie arriving later this year, and Raimi has described Evil Dead Rise as “terrifying” and promised that the horror movie will “knock people’s socks off.”
The filmmaker is probably better known for his work on superhero movies, after creating the iconic Spider-Man trilogy in the 2000s, with Tobey Maguire playing the titular hero. But, it’s Raimi’s legacy in the horror genre that got him to where he is today, with the beloved Evil Dead franchise being the brainchild of the legendary director.
In a recent interview with SlashFilm to promote Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Raimi admitted he had seen a few different cuts of Evil Dead Rise, and was full of praise for the work of director Lee Cronin and his team in continuing the legacy of the franchise.
“I’ve seen a rough cut [of Evil Dead Rise], a medium fine cut, and a fine cut. There’s probably a few changes that Lee Cronin is making that I haven’t seen, but it’s great,” Raimi said. “It’s terrifying and it’s going to knock people’s socks off,” the filmmaker added.
While we’re sure Raimi wouldn’t exactly criticise the upcoming movie in public, he is the kind of person who doesn’t really mince his words in interviews and is always honest, so it’s exciting to hear this level of praise from the horror master himself.
Raimi wrote and directed the original The Evil Dead back in 1981, and later returned to the franchise with Evil Dead II. The Evil Dead movies are considered some of the best ’80s movies, and remain a huge part of popular culture to this day.
Sam Raimi is still involved in Evil Dead Rise, having co-written the script with director Lee Cronin, and Raimi is also serving as executive producer on the project. There is still no release date for Evil Dead Rise as of yet, but the movie is dropping on streaming service HBO Max at some point in 2022.