Top 5 Sam Raimi Movies Light on Horror and Big on Entertainment

One of the best horror movie directors of all time and one of my favorites across all genres is Sam Raimi, whose most recent movie, Send Help, is making waves with its comedic undertones and unique gore sequences.

With many horror movies making their way to the big screen, from Kevin Williamson's Scream 7 to Gore Verbinski's Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, I thought it would be great to list some of the best movies from the famed archives of Sam Raimi.

Top 5 Sam Raimi Movies That Entertain More Than Scare

1. Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Where to Watch: Prime Video ( Subscription/Rent )

This is one of the movies that is really enjoyable since I've never known a granny that harbors a grudge, and most of them are really sweet people, too. So this was an entirely fictional work of art to me - and in that measure, it completely excels.

When a bank employee refuses an extension on a mortgage payment to an elderly Romani lady, she is cursed by the lady with an ancient curse that will eventually kill her.

The elements of ancient dark ritual magic tap into our fear of the unknown, which is parallel to our belief in religion. Sam Raimi taps really deep into this well with a lot of complex emotional undertones, aided by an amazing cast and practical effects enhanced by CGI.

As with most Raimi horror movies, the gore is so over the top that it's slightly funny ( I say slightly since the theme is a bit sombre ). This movie is just the right level of horror for me, where the scary element is just right - not too funny, nor too terrifying. This ranks first on my Top 5 Sam Raimi Movies list, as its one of the few horror movies that I liked in general.

2. Darkman (1990)

Where to Watch: Prime Video ( Rent )

Darkman is Sam Raimi's glorious creation that is a cross between Phantom of the Opera and Mr. Hyde, except it's Liam Neeson as a scientist. Neeson is attacked by the mob while working on a technology to create synthetic skin for people who need it.

So to take revenge on the people who hurt him, he uses his prototype synthetic skin to sow seeds of mistrust between the mob by impersonating people and stopping their plans.

The strength of this movie is its plot, which Raimi wrote from scratch along with Ivan Raimi, Chuck Pfarrer, and Daniel and Joshua Goldin, which is impressive in itself, considering the sheer volume of crap the Marvel and DC machines put out regularly.

While you can draw parallels to a mix of characters in Marvel and DC, ranging from Batman to Plastic Man, Darkman stands out with its unique execution, even though the motivation is simple. The suspense, background score, and pacing are all on point with the practical effects for the lead character exceeding all expectations at the time and even holding up well today with all the CGI wizardry in Infinity War, Endgame, and DC's Peacemaker and Superman.

You see Liam Neeson way before his Taken days, exuding the same level of intensity in his performance, chasing vengeance more than the bad guys in this particular movie. The movie has a non-campy comic-book feel that adds to the experience while watching it rather than detracting from it.

3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Where to Watch: Prime Video ( Subscription/ Rent ), Apple TV ( Subscription/ Rent )

For me, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Franchise (2002, 2004, 2007) will always be the definitive one, like Christopher Nolan's Batman (2003) is the definitive Batman. He was one of the innovators of the 2000s with X-Men in 2000 and Ang Lee's Hulk in 2003.

At the time of its release, this movie received very poor critic reveiws and had significant fan backlash, unlike today, where people kinda like it. But I thought and still do that this was an awesome bookend to an awesome trilogy, even with the 'Funky Soul' dance, which I thought was quite entertaining.

Also great was the trumpet-sounding theme for Black Spider-Man that is enhanced by the Symbiote. The scene where Tobey Maguire wakes up on top of a building upside down on the face of a skyscraper, with this iconic bad guy theme playing, is so amazing.

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4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Where to Watch: Disney+

The Multiverse of Madness is what happens when you provide a legendary director with a stunted script and various random fan service moments to hit, including gratuitous cameos. The movie itself as a whole wasn't great because of what Raimi had to work with, but there are moments of brilliance that you only see in his movies.

The musical fight where two versions of Dr. Strange battle each other by bringing notes of piano music to existence and throwing them at each other. Another scene that is pure Raimi is the battle between the Scarlett Witch and the Illuminati, with familiar horror music notes accompanied by visuals that stand out in the movie.

5. Army of Darkness (1992)

Where to Watch: Apple TV ( Subscription/ Rent )

A horror movie that leads with laughs and sprinkles in the scares is exactly how I like this genre. Bruce Campbell provides an awesome comedic performance as a man out of time, trying to return to his reality with all the knowledge he brings from the relative future.

I may be biased, but the practical effects are really good and have aged really well. You can tell that most of them were real horror props that were done to perfection.