Sam Raimi has had a wild and thrillingly eclectic career directing films, that's for sure. He's perhaps best known for being the lead creative mind behind two beloved trilogies, The Evil Dead Trilogy (1981-1992) and The Spider-Man Trilogy with Tobey Maguire (2002-2007). It's hard to deny that these are some of the best films he's made. Of the six, Spider-Man 3 might be the only divisive one, but at the very least, it's become memorable, thanks to the memes it's spawned. In all fairness, it does have a couple of things working for it.
With Raimi's return to the world of Marvel in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it's worth looking back at the lesser-known movies he's made, the stuff that's not Evil Dead or Spider-Man related. Digging deep into the filmography of Raimi leads to horror, fantasy, crime, comedy, another comic book movie (of sorts), a sports movie, and even a Western.
8) 'For Love of the Game' (1999)
The closest thing to a dud in Raimi's film career, For Love of the Game is a baseball movie starring Kevin Costner and is not to be mixed up with a better baseball movie starring Kevin Costner. It follows Costner's character as he deals with his career and love life and the struggles being 40 causes for both.
Some supporting performances from great actors like J.K. Simmons and John C. Reilly inject a little life into the film, but for the most part, it's a drag. Sappy, predictable, and for some reason 137 minutes long, it's hard to recommend to anyone besides hardcore Kevin Costner fans or people who really love movies about baseball.
7) 'Oz the Great and Powerful' (2013)
A fairly by-the-numbers fantasy film that serves as a prequel of sorts to The Wizard of Oz, focusing on a younger Oz as he enters the Land of Oz and establishes himself as the mythical figure he'd become.
The best thing that can be said about Oz the Great and Powerful is that it feels like a Sam Raimi film in fits and bursts. There are a few brief shots and even some short scenes that have that unique brand of energy and visual creativity that's established Raimi as a beloved director. They're sadly sparse, especially by the tiring third act, and unfortunately, James Franco and Mila Kunis turn in slightly disappointing performances in the lead roles.
6) 'The Gift' (2000)
The Gift is odd. It has a cast full of actors everyone knows (Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, and J.K. Simmons, among others). It has an interesting premise about a psychic who becomes involved in solving a murder case in a small town in the USA's south. But despite all that, it's become more or less forgotten.
Maybe that's because it sounds like something neat on paper, but the execution feels a little underwhelming. It's definitely not bad, and the mix of light fantastical elements blended with a crime-mystery makes for something unique, but it does ultimately fail to leave the impact you'd think it would.
5) 'Crimewave' (1985)
Crimewave is a lot. Its main issue might be that it's too much. It's a movie about a man on death row recounting the wild and bizarre events that led him there. It was co-written by the Coen Brothers and isn't to be mixed up with another strange crime-comedy from 1985 called Crime Wave (with a space).
For a while, though, the fast-paced, ludicrous slapstick comedy and dark humor are a good bit of fun. It might just accelerate too much and feel too one-note at a certain point to end up as a great movie overall. But anyone who likes the comedic moments and energy of Raimi films like Evil Dead 2 or Army of Darkness should find a decent number of things to enjoy in Crimewave.
4) 'Darkman' (1990)
Some behind-the-scenes drama behind Darkman proves to be just as compelling as the film itself, like how Raimi may have made it because he wasn't given a Batman movie to direct (despite desperately wanting to), or how it was recut and re-edited repeatedly before being finalized and released.
It's an odd blend of an old-fashioned horror film and dark comic book film where Liam Neeson's character survives being murdered, only to develop superhuman strength alongside a deteriorating psyche and goes on a rampage of revenge against those who wronged him. But calling it a comic book film isn't entirely accurate, as the character of Darkman was an original creation. Still, it's an interesting and compelling superhero oddity and feels unique more than 30 years later.
3) 'The Quick and the Dead' (1995)
The Quick and the Dead is a fun, quirky Western/action movie. It features an all-star cast including Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, a young Leonardo DiCaprio, and a whole host of accomplished character actors. It centers on a town that holds a brutal quick draw competition with multiple competitors and almost as many fatalities.
It's worth watching for the quirky humor found in most of Raimi's work and the fun shootouts and great cast playing entertaining characters. It's messy and uneven at times, but many of its minor flaws are pretty easy to overlook or simply ignore in the moment.
2) 'A Simple Plan' (1998)
A Simple Plan is probably Sam Raimi's most serious and downbeat film. While it might lack his signature quirky humor, it's still more than worth watching for its tense, gripping story about a trio of people who discover several million dollars in a crashed plane. It highlights his diversity as a filmmaker.
With its straightforward look at greed, deceit, and human weakness wrapped up in a crime-thriller story, it feels more like the Coen Brothers' serious movies. It's very underrated overall and, unlike some of Raimi's other semi-forgotten films, well worth a watch for anyone who wants to see a different side of Sam Raimi.
1) 'Drag Me to Hell' (2009)
In the end, the best Sam Raimi movie that isn't included within one of his famous trilogies might be the one that bears the most resemblance to one of them — in this case, The Evil Dead Trilogy. There are enough differences so that it doesn't feel like just another Evil Dead movie, but it is a full-on horror film with a dark sense of humor and a supernatural curse ruining the life of its main character. The comparisons are inevitable.
It's a very satisfying horror movie in its own right, though, and really pushes the boundaries of what a director can get away with in a PG-13 movie. It's suitably gross and quite unnerving while also being a good deal of fun. It's an essential Sam Raimi film for anyone who's gotten through the three Evil Dead movies and finds themselves craving more of Raimi's unique brand of horror.