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Thoughts from the Ledge: Happy birthday to Sam Raimi!

By Susan Leighton

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Welcome to my weekly series where I pay homage to those unsung heroes of the horror genre. However, this particular installment is going to be different. Today marks the birthday of one of the pioneers of splatstick horror films, Sam Raimi.

“That’s what heroic stories do for us. They show us the way. They remind of us the good we are capable of.” – Sam Raimi

For the Love of Shemp

Anyone who is a fan of Sam Raimi knows the origins of the Michigan Mafia and how they became the extraordinary talents that they are today. However, before they turned their attention to the world of horror, they were focused on turning out Three Stooges inspired shorts.

In these early films, it wasn’t unusual to see Sam step in front of the camera or do voiceover work. He was undertaking any position so that he could learn the entire business of his future occupation.

According to his longtime friend and partner in crime, Bruce Campbell (star of the Evil Dead trilogy and the current tv series, Ash vs Evil Dead) those early filmmaking experiences were very collaborative.

“Everybody participated in a lot of the films. It was a very open process. You know the lines of demarcation were not drawn. A lot of people suggested ways to shoot them or kicked in money.”

“Whoever put in the most money was the producer. A bunch of guys would write the different scripts but then when we were shooting, we made a lot of stuff up. It was very freeform. It wasn’t like when you start to join unions where your jobs are easily defined.”

If you view some of these early efforts, you can clearly see the comedic influences. In particular, Attack of the Pillsbury Doughboy, which Sam directed, is rife with Stooges references. Even down to the Curlyesque voice that is affected by the Doughboy.

Sam’s love of comedy is so apparent that he even coined a term, “fake Shemp.” For those of you that may be unfamiliar with it, Mentalfloss has a definition. “The term refers to the stand-in required to replace an absent actor onscreen.”

Blurred Lines

Perhaps why comedy and horror make good bedfellows is because in order to succeed, both artforms rely on timing. Comedy functions on the rule of threes. For a joke to be successful, you have the setup, followed by a corresponding item but the third must be a surprise punchline. This is also known as a comic triple.

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Horror also hinges on the element of surprise. Jump scares are an extremely effective device. Sam has been fond of using projectile blood and other bodily fluids to incite fear.

In his own words, Raimi recounts what someone said to him on the subject of oral fixations, “I think she said I should seek help. Something like that, but it was in much cruder terms. And that I had a fascination with things coming out of people’s mouths.”

Recently, Slate took an in depth look at Raimi’s splatstick technique. According to Patrick Willems, “Both genres affect us on a base level that sets them apart from other genres.” He goes on to say that, “What Raimi recognizes is that the construction of a scare is the same as a construction of a laugh.”

As we mentioned above, there is always an element of surprise. Here is where his background with the Stooges comes in handy. Exaggeration is the key to successful horror and comedy. So, when you utilize this technique be it in camera work, dialogue, even lighting, it creates that splatstick effect.

Recipe for Splatstick Success

Willem’s breakdown analysis of a Raimi horror scene using Evil Dead 2:

  1. Funny visual gag – in the Evil Dead films this could be a number of scenes, one that comes to mind in Evil Dead 2 is when Ash is wrestling with his hand and smashing plates on his head.
  2. Shocking horror – one of the horrific scenes in ED2 is when Ash takes the chainsaw and removes his right hand.
  3. Escalating gore – the torrent of blood that bursts forth from the cellar which Bruce Campbell described as coming from an elephant.
  4. Slapstick comedy – the scene where Linda’s skeleton is dancing in the moonlight and she removes her head like a hat.
  5. Over the top gore – my personal favorite would be the eyeball soaring through the air to land in Bobby Sue’s mouth.

Early Raimi Cinema Milestones

Sam Raimi has been one of my favorite directors for quite some time. I suppose I will be giving away my age but I don’t care. My friends and I were sixteen when we snuck into see Evil Dead. In the early 80s, theater hopping was a fun game and I was quite adept at it.

When I was in college, Evil Dead 2 was playing at the local cinema. It was a midnight showing. So much fun and laughter that every time I watch that film, I am taken back to those times when life was more carefree and less hectic.

I am not ashamed to admit this but Sam Raimi got quite a bit of money out of me for Darkman. Not joking, I saw that film ten times in the theater. The idea of a horror romance was so novel and fresh. This movie was unlike anything I had seen.

Adulthood with Sam

As an adult, I was thrilled when Sam stepped out of the horror zone and did the marvelous A Simple Plan with the late, great Bill Paxton. I was never a superhero girl but the Spiderman series had me on the edge of my seat because of his adept direction.

Drag Me to Hell had a special resonance with me because for many years I worked as a collector. So, when I saw this film, I had some hearty laughs amidst the gore. It was such a pleasure to see him come home to the genre that launched his career.

Thank you, Sam Raimi for your inspiration and your film legacy. Hail to the King, baby!

Next: Bruce Campbell Interview: Evil Dead hero more than blood and boomsticks

Are you a Sam Raimi fan? What is your favorite film? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. We want to hear from you!

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