Sam Raimi and 4 other horror directors’ surprise cameos

Sam Raimi is not the only horror director to do surprise cameos in films. Here is a list of some recognizable names that have also appeared on screen as well.

Sam Raimi is used to directing other actors on camera but he has also appeared on screen. As most of his fans know, he used to ham it up on his Super-8 films with the likes of his pals, Bruce Campbell, Scott Spiegel and his brother, Ted.

You can see him in Maniac Cop as the reporter commenting on the St. Patrick’s Day parade in the William Lustig horror fest. Since Raimi has several well-known cameos on record, we decided to look for something unusual.

In 2013, the director is featured at the end of 3 Geezers! a mockumentary starring J.K. Simmons directed by his wife, Michelle Schumacher. It was unexpected but then again, Raimi is very familiar with the star of this movie.

Here is a list of other horror directors that have been featured briefly in various productions. If you blink, you might miss them!

Sam Raimi: 3 Geezers!

In this effort, J.K. Simmons portrays, J. Kimball, an actor who is doing research for an upcoming role. Since he is playing a man in his 80’s, he decides to visit a local nursing home to observe the residents.

What he didn’t count on was getting pranked by three elderly gentlemen with the souls of fraternity boys. So, to exact revenge, he calls on some of his Hollywood friends to even the score. Think The Hangover meets Dirty Grandpa and you have the idea behind this feature.

As you can see in the clip below, Sam Raimi appears as the exasperated director of the film and he delivers some hilarious one-liners. Our favorite, “Cut! Cut! It sucks. I wouldn’t use this as fill in a porno.”

Alfred Hitchcock: Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock was famous for appearing in his own films. It became a game for audience members to try and pick him out.

In Psycho, there is a brief shot of the legend standing outside Marion’s office building wearing a cowboy hat. Next time you view the genre classic, see if you can spot him.

David Cronenberg: Videodrome

One of Cronenberg’s prominent cameos was in The Fly. He played the obstetrician delivering Geena Davis’ mutant “Brundle Fly” baby. However, in Videodrome, you might not even recognize him.

There is a scene where James Woods was supposed to wear the Accumicon helmet. As it turns out, the actor felt that it was too “heavy.” So, he refused to put it on.

David stepped in and became Woods’ body double despite the fact that his clothing was about three sizes too small for the rangy director.

Wes Craven: The Tripper

Scream veterans, Courteney Cox and her then husband, David Arquette formed a production company in 2006 known as Coquette Productions. One of their first efforts was a retro slasher film, The Tripper.

A serial killer who has a deep and abiding hatred of hippies goes on a rampage at a Free Love rock festival in the woods. His gimmick, he hides behind a Ronald Reagan mask and his weapon of choice is an ax.

Arquette wrote and directed this film. As a thank you to his mentor and friend, Wes Craven, he had him appear as one of the concert goers.

At 2:11 in the trailer, Wes can be seen wearing some extremely groovy attire.

Tobe Hooper: Sleepwalkers

Mick Garris must have had fun directing his pals in Sleepwalkers. Stephen King, the late, great Tobe Hooper and Clive Barker all made cameos in this film written by King. It is the first time that the author ever penned anything directly for the screen.

Look for Hooper at the :51 second mark. He is playing a detective gathering evidence at a crime scene.

You can watch the above selections at Amazon Prime, iTunes, FandangoNOW, YouTube, Google Play, VUDU, Sling TV, fuboTV, Philo and AMC. 

Do you have a favorite cameo scene? Let us know in the comments.