Movies
40 Years Before the ‘Multiverse of Madness’: Read Stephen King’s 1982 Review That Saved ‘The Evil Dead’
King called Sam Raimi‘s debut “The most ferociously original horror film of 1982.”
One of the coolest things about Stephen King is that he’s constantly promoting the work of other artists working within the horror space. When he sees/loves a new horror movie, King tweets about it; very often, these quotes are then used as part of the marketing. After all, a stamp of approval from Stephen King is the ultimate ringing endorsement for all things horror.
But advocating for horror films is nothing new when it comes to Stephen King.
Back in 1982, King caught a screening of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead at the Cannes Film Festival, which at the time did not have a U.S. distributor. In fact, studios including Paramount passed on the film, feeling that it was just too aggressive in its approach. Too raw. Too scary. Too gruesome. Too… much.
Of course, New Line Cinema eventually picked up The Evil Dead, and the rest is history. Who does Sam Raimi credit with legitimizing his debut feature and bringing it to the attention of New Line? That’d be Stephen King, who wrote a glowing review of the film for Twilight Zone Magazine.
“During one of these marketing screenings at the Cannes film festival, where there were different distributors watching the films trying to make their judgments as to what they’ll buy that year, Stephen King was in the audience, and we heard, ‘Oh, he was really screaming and shouting during the movie.’ And I was the biggest Stephen King fan in the world,” Raimi told IGN back in 2015.
He continued, “[Sales agent] Irvin Shapiro said to me, ‘Ask him for a quote, if he liked the movie.’ So I called him… and said, ‘Could you give us a quote, what you honestly thought of the film?’ He said, ‘I won’t do that, but I will write a review. If there’s something in the review that you want to use as a quote, you can.’ So he wrote a review for Twilight Zone Magazine. It was very generous of him, and we were able to use the very positive quote that he gave us.”
Raimi noted in the same chat…
“Without that, the movie may have been lost, but with Stephen King’s endorsement, we were able to make our first sales.”
Crazy, right? You can read King’s complete Evil Dead review below, via Reddit! To see these worlds collide even more, check out our own weekly Stephen King podcast, The Losers’ Club, and their sister series, Halloweenies, who are currently spending this year in the woods sawing through The Evil Dead franchise.
This article was originally published on June 23, 2017.
Movies
SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!
As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.
Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:
Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.
Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.
Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.
Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.
Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?
Also check out:
The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.
Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.
And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.
These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.
Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.
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