The Best Sam Raimi Movies (And How To Watch Them)
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There are some who say that, if you have seen one horror movie, you have seen them all. I am convinced that those narrow-minded moviegoers have never seen the films of Sam Raimi – the artist behind some of the greatest horror movies ever made, let alone some of the genre’s most visually dazzling and, sometimes, quite funny entries.
Of course, what makes the filmmaker such an esteemed figure of the art today is not just the way he applied his unique vision to scaring audiences, but the way he branched out to nearly every other genre you could think of with dazzling results. See for yourself by reliving (or discovering) the best Sam Raimi movies on streaming, which we have compiled below.
The Evil Dead Movies (1981-2023)
An unassuming young vacationer (played by Bruce Campbell), a recovering addict (played by Jane Levy), a concert roadie (played by Lily Sullivan) visiting her family, and others encounter the insidious, possessive entities awakened by a mysterious book called the Necronomicon.
Why they are some of Sam Raimi’s best movies: Writer and director Sam Raimi became an indie horror hero with The Evil Dead; perfected the horror-comedy with 1987’s Evil Dead II; and brought his cartoonishly macabre vision to the fantasy adventure genre with 1992’s Army of Darkness, which was later followed up by a brutal 2013 reboot and a standalone sequel set in an apartment building called Evil Dead Rise – both of which he also produced.
Rent or buy The Evil Dead on Amazon.
Buy The Evil Dead on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Stream Evil Dead II on Plex.
Buy Evil Dead II on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Rent or buy Army Of Darkness on Amazon.
Buy Army Of Darkness on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Stream Evil Dead on Max.
Buy Evil Dead on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Stream Evil Dead Rise on Max.
Stream Evil Dead Rise on Amazon Prime.
Buy Evil Dead Rise on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Crimewave (1985)
As he awaits his execution while sitting on an electric chair, a plucky, average man wrongfully accused of murder (played by Reed Birney) recalls his wacky and explosive experiences with the real culprits: a pair of lunatic exterminators (played by Brion James and Paul L. James) on a deadly, aimless rampage.
Why it is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: With co-writers Joel and Ethan Coen, Raimi goes in an entirely different direction that would become his signature style with Crimewave – an electrifying, manic noir send-up that often feels like a cartoon captured in live-action and also stars Bruce Campbell.
Stream Crimewave on Amazon Prime.
Stream Crimewave on Tubi.
Buy Crimewave on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Intruder (1989)
On what they discover will be one of their last overnight shifts, the stock crew at a small grocery store learns there is an uninvited guest among them who is determined to make it everyone’s last night alive.
Why it is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: While he had no creative involvement with this cult favorite ‘80s slasher, Raimi does have a starring role as meat department worker named Randy in Intruder, which was written and directed by his friend and frequent collaborator Scott Spiegel (and also features Bruce Campbell in a brief appearance at the end).
Stream Intruder on Tubi.
Buy Intruder on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Darkman (1990)
After an incident leaves him grotesquely burned and virtually unrecognizable, a brilliant scientist (played by Academy Award nominee Liam Neeson) invents a revolutionary synthetic skin that can temporarily disguise himself as anyone to exact revenge on his enemies and reconnect with his wife (played by Academy Award winner Frances McDormand).
Why it is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: Long before he was chosen to helm the Spider-Man movies (more on those later), Raimi made his superhero movie debut with a film not based on any pre-existing comic books called Darkman – a highly unique sci-fi action thriller in both concept and style... that also features Bruce Campbell in a brief appearance at the end.
Rent or buy Darkman on Amazon.
Buy Darkman on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
A bright-eyed, but naive business school graduate (played by Tim Robbins) is suddenly promoted from mail room attendant of a major manufacturing company to president – unaware that it is all part of a stock market scam – in 1950s New York City.
Why it is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: While he did not direct this fast-paced screwball comedy, Raimi collaborated with his friends Joel and Ethan Coen on the script for (and also cameos in) The Hudsucker Proxy, which features Bruce Campbell in the supporting role of quippy newspaper reporter, Smitty.
Stream The Hudsucker Proxy on Netflix.
Stream The Hudsucker Proxy on The Roku Channel.
Buy The Hudsucker Proxy on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Quick And The Dead (1995)
A mysterious and beautiful sharp-shooter (played by Academy Award nominee Sharon Stone) rides into a poor town ruled with an iron fist by a cruel, wealthy tyrant (Academy Award winner Gene Hackman) and participates in its gun-dueling tournament to take him down.
Why it’s one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: After tackling horror, slapstick crime noir, and superhero movies, Raimi made one of the best Western movies of its time with the visually unique and cheekily humorous The Quick and the Dead, which also stars Russell Crowe and a young Leonardo DiCaprio.
Stream The Quick And The Dead on Netflix.
Buy The Quick And The Dead on Blu-ray on Amazon.
A Simple Plan (1998)
A family man (played by Bill Paxton), his brother (played by Billy Bob Thornton), and their friend (played by Brent Briscoe) conspire to keep a case of millions of dollars they found for themselves, until complications arise that cause them to turn against each other.
Why it is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: In one of the more earnest and grounded films of his career, director Raimi crafts a spine-tingling and increasingly intense suspense thriller out of A Simple Plan, which earned Academy Award nominations for Thornton's performance and Scott B. Smith’s screenplay that he adapted from his own best-selling novel.
Rent or buy A Simple Plan on Amazon.
Buy A Simple Plan on DVD on Amazon.
For Love Of The Game (1999)
During his final baseball game, a veteran Detroit Lions pitcher (played by Academy Award winner Kevin Costner) recalls through flashbacks the most pivotal moments of his athletic career and of his relationship with his girlfriend (played by Kelly Preston), whom he may also be losing.
Why it is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: Raimi tries his hand at both sports movies (or baseball movies, more accurately) and romantic dramas with For Love of the Game – an inspiring and structurally unique story based on the novel by Michael Shaara.
Stream For Love Of The Game on Starz.
Buy For Love Of The Game on DVD on Amazon.
The Gift (2000)
A widowed fortune teller (played by Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett) with real extrasensory abilities is asked to help with the investigation of a missing young woman (played by Katie Holmes), only to suspect that her own life is in danger.
Why it is one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: In what could be described as a return to his horror roots, director Raimi crafts yet another visually stunning, narratively gripping, star-studded winner out of The Gift – one of the best Cate Blanchett movies, which was written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson.
Stream The Gift on Paramount+ with Showtime add-on.
Buy The Gift on DVD on Amazon.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy (2002-2007)
A young man (played by Tobey Maguire) is given extraordinary abilities by a radioactive arachnid’s bite, which helps him protect New York City from various villainous individuals.
Why they are some of Sam Raimi’s best movies: In his first big return to superhero movies, director Sam Raimi brought Marvel Comics’ iconic webslinger to the big screen in his own dazzling fashion with his influential trilogy of Spider-Man movies – each of which feature a brief, but hilariously memorable cameo by Bruce Campbell.
Stream Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy on Disney+.
Stream Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy on Netflix.
Buy Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Drag Me To Hell (2009)
A young loan officer (played by Alison Lohman) turns down a mortgage extension request from an elderly woman (Lorna Raver), who then curses her the target of a cruel, ancient demon that threatens to send her into eternal damnation within days.
Why it’s one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: In his big return to the horror genre, director Raimi puts Lohman through the same kind of splatterific taunting he subjected Bruce Campbell to in the Evil Dead movies with Drag Me To Hell – a grotesquely frightening, playfully hilarious, and pretty brutal thriller he co-wrote with his brother, Ivan, that deserves a sequel to some.
Stream Drag Me to Hell on Paramount+.
Buy Drag Me To Hell on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
A powerful sorcerer (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) is tasked with protecting a teenage girl (played by Xochitl Gomez) with the ability to travel to other dimensions.
Why it’s one of Sam Raimi’s best movies: There could have been no better choice for Raimi’s return to comic book movies and his MCU debut than the aptly titled Multiverse movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which utilizes his signature macabre style to dazzling effect and features a funny cameo by Bruce Campbell.
Stream Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Disney+.
Buy Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Blu-ray on Amazon.
As of July 2024, Sam Raimi is set to direct Send Help, which is his first horror movie in more than a decade, if you do not count his Doctor Strange sequel. Speaking of upcoming horror movies, he has enlisted two filmmakers – Sebastian Vanechak and Francis Galluppi – to continue the Evil Dead movies and has also detailed how he would make Spider-Man 4 if given the opportunity. Could that opportunity be swinging around anytime soon? We will just have to wait and see.
