Sam Raimi: The rules of horror as told to Stephen King

Sam Raimi guest starred on Stephen King’s World of Horror back in 1989. The director shared with the audience his rules of horror and why every movie in the genre should follow these guidelines.

Sam Raimi Explains It All

Sam Raimi is a well-known name in the world of popular culture. He first came to prominence after his movie, The Evil Dead became a cult sensation thanks to none other than Stephen King. The master of horror gave the picture such a glowing review that it raised it from obscurity to notoriety in a heartbeat.

In 1989, Raimi was a guest star on King’s television movie, World of Horror. His focus was to deliver his Rules of Horror for the viewing audience. Out of his 5 tenets, 4 of them would be relevant to not only genre filmmaking but to mainstream filmmaking as well.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in and discuss how to craft the perfect horror movie.

Raimi’s Rules

1. Don’t Make a Boring Picture

Well, this goes without saying. Every writer and director want to ensure that their audiences are engaged and interactive with the production. In the case of Raimi’s Evil Dead series, viewers were on the edge of their seats watching Ash deal with Deadites and other such tragedies being flung his way.

Sam Raimi director during “Spider-Man 3” On Location in New York City – June 3, 2006 at Spider-Man 3: On Location Downtown, New York City in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Bobby Bank/WireImage)

Raimi has a style of filmmaking that is all inclusive. No matter if he is directing a horror film or a superhero endeavor, when you watch one of his efforts, you feel as if you have been propelled into the onscreen action. When Spider-Man is swinging through New York City testing his web slinging capabilities, you are right there doing it with him.

Case in point and in Sam’s own words if you have made a boring picture, you have “Failed in entertaining your audience. You’ve committed a crime.”

2. The Innocent Must Suffer

I must confess that when I watched Raimi explain this particular rule I started laughing. Why? Because I thought back to the endless on set stories from Bruce Campbell about how Sam and Rob Tapert would torture him by motivating him with 2 x 4’s and other such tactics during the making of the first Evil Dead flick.

Sam Raimi – The Innocent Must Suffer – Courtesy of De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG),Renaissance Pictures

In a 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly, here is what Sam Raimi said about tormenting his life-long pal:

“I don’t know what’s entertaining about it, but it gives me a great deal of pleasure. So, I find it to be a very healthy, productive, one-with-the universe-type thing to torment Bruce. I’m really the vessel — the innocent, wholesome, clear vessel to give the audience what they need, and they need to see him suffer. I think their entertainment is proportional to the amount of suffering Bruce does, and Bruce understands that now. I hit him with a stick every once-in-a-while to prod him along a little for his own good and to get the performance we need out of him.”

Leaving that amusing backstory out of the explanation, on screen it is important to see some sort of struggle for the protagonist. That is what good storytelling is all about. A character must have a challenge or an objective to achieve otherwise why are we compelled to care or watch?

Ash Williams is definitely suffering. His friends are being taken over by demons and then he has to dispatch them. It doesn’t get grittier than that.

3. The Guilty Must Be Punished

Conflict is a necessity for any creative project. Especially in a story or a film because it is the catalyst and motivation for the hero to achieve their particular character arc. Even at the most basic level, most stories deal with good vs evil.

Sam Raimi – The Guilty Must Be Punished – Courtesy of Renaissance Pictures,Universal Pictures

Darkman is a great example of this rule in action. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is disfigured by Robert G. Durant (Larry Drake) and his henchmen. Durant is a gangster, a kingpin and is a hidden psychopath.

In order to reclaim his life back and ensure that Durant can never hurt or kill anyone again, he takes up the quest to vanquish evil. Once he dispatches his nemesis, justice is served.

4. You Must Taste Blood to Be a Man

While this is an interesting construct to explore, is it a necessary one? If we are talking specifically for the horror genre, then it would be apropos for both men and women. Especially when you are looking at Ash vs Evil Dead.

Sam Raimi – You Must Taste Blood to Be a Man – Courtesy of STARZ

At the beginning of the series, Pablo (Ray Santiago) is a shy, unassuming clerk at Value Stop with Ash. He loves his friend Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) from afar and is quite naïve when it comes to the Deadite world. Over three seasons, we watch his character grow after being repeatedly being awash in blood.

Finally, in a ritual that involves the elixir of life, Pablo is able to claim his destiny as the powerful El Brujo Especial. He becomes the walker in between the worlds of the dead and the living. It is that immersion in blood that accelerates his confidence and strength and turns him into a full-blown shaman and man.

Gone is the timid boy. He is able to rescue Kelly from near death and profess his love for her.

5. The Dead Must Walk

The last rule was actually suggested by Joel and Ethan Coen. In all of the Evil Dead incarnations, this guideline is adhered to. However, Sam has his doubts on whether or not this should even be considered a law.

Sam Raimi – The Dead Must Walk – Courtesy of STARZ

His response, “We’re still testing that law in our research labs to see if it holds true in all cases.” Take a look at this video and see if you agree with Sam’s arguments.

Most of these rules Sam Raimi has applied throughout his career not only to his horror films but some of the laws infiltrate his other work as well. Perhaps other filmmakers should heed his advice, just a suggestion.

Do you agree with the rules of horror? Are they complete? Let us know in the comments section below. We want to hear from you.