Sam Raimi Inks Deal to Direct Horror Movie Described as a Mix Between Misery and Castaway

Evil Dead mastermind Sam Raimi is working with 20th Century Studios to create a new horror thriller movie titled Send Help, according to Deadline.

A deal between Raimi and 20th Century has closed, but the project is not yet greenlit. Should the film move forward, the filmmaker will direct and produce the project, which, according to the site’s sources, is set on an island. It’s described as “falling somewhere between Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation Misery and Robert Zemeckis’ classic Castaway.”

Friday the 13th (2013) and Baywatch writing partners Damian Shannon and Mark Swift are attached to pen the script. Raimi is producing alongside Raimi Productions President Zainab Azizi, and the film is expected to be released theatrically.

Send Help is poised to join a long line of iconic horror movies directed by Raimi. The iconic moviemaker secured his place in horror history with The Evil Dead and its sequel, but he also went on to continue a strong run with projects like Army of Darkness, Darkman, and Drag Me to Hell.

He’s also known in the comic book world for directing the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as well as 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In between his work as a director for superhero and horror projects, Raimi has continued to oversee the Evil Dead franchise while producing other movies like Don’t Breathe, Boy Kills World, 65, and Crawl.

Further details on Send Help, such as a release date and casting information, are scarce for now. In the meantime, you can see why Raimi won’t be directing Spider-Man 4 with Maguire any time soon and why he’s hoping to direct Avengers: Secret Wars.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

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