Sam Raimi Credits Stephen King for The Evil Dead’s Success

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Sam Raimi is set to unveil a fresh story this weekend with Send Help, which has already garnered significant acclaim from critics, marking his best-reviewed film since Spider-Man 2. One critic who will likely be pleased is the legendary horror author, Stephen King. In a recent interview, Raimi shared how much he owes to King, who provided feedback on Raimi’s directorial debut during its screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 1982.

“Well, nobody would touch Evil Dead with a ten-foot pole,” Raimi recalled. “Then Stephen King happened to be in the theater at Cannes. He saw it and gave us a fantastic review in Twilight Zone magazine. I was so honored because he was my biggest hero, and he still is. He’s had a tremendous influence on me.”

That influence may resonate in Send Help, which has been described as a blend of Misery, adapted by the late Rob Reiner, and Robert Zemeckis’ Cast Away. Raimi addressed these comparisons, noting that he intentionally distanced himself from them during the film’s development.

“I thought, ‘I’d rather not have those references.’ As much as I love both those films, and they’re classics, I want this to stand on its own,” Raimi explained. “So I consciously avoided watching them again, even though I’ve seen them many times, and I worked with the writers to steer the project in a different direction to avoid those associations.”

Now that Send Help is in theaters, you can see if it truly carves out its own identity. For more on Stephen King adaptations, check out our ranking of every film based on his work.

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