Samuel M. Raimi ( RAY-mee; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for writing and directing the Evil Dead trilogy (1981–1993) and directing the Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed Darkman (1990), The Quick and the Dead (1995), A Simple Plan (1998), The Gift (2000), Drag Me to Hell (2009), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and Send Help (2026).
His films are known for their highly dynamic visual style, inspired by comic books and slapstick comedy. He founded the production companies Renaissance Pictures in 1979 and Ghost House Pictures in 2002. Raimi has also produced several successful television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1997), its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001), and Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018) starring longtime friend and collaborator Bruce Campbell reprising his role in the Evil Dead franchise.
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Early life
Raimi was born on October 23, 1959, in Royal Oak, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. His family was Conservative Jewish. He is a son of merchants Celia Barbara (née Abrams) (1929–2016) and Leonard Ronald Raimi (1926–2021). His ancestors were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Hungary. His younger brother Ted is an actor, and his older brother Ivan is a screenwriter and physician. His older sister, Andrea Raimi Rubin, is a court reporter. Another older brother, Sander, died at 15 in an accidental drowning in Israel; Raimi has said that the trauma knitted the remaining family closer together and "colored everything he's done for the rest of his life." Raimi also mentioned that Sander first introduced him to Spider-Man, igniting his love for comics.
Raimi graduated from Groves High School and later went on to attend Michigan State University and later Università Bocconi in Milan, Italy, where he studied English but left after three semesters to film The Evil Dead.
Career
Film
Raimi became fascinated with making films when his father brought a movie camera home one day. He began to make Super 8 movies with his friend Bruce Campbell, whom he met in 1975. In college, he collaborated with his brother's roommate Robert Tapert and Campbell to shoot Within the Woods (1979), a 32-minute horror film which raised $375,000, as well as his debut feature film It's Murder!. During that time, he also shot the seven-minute short film Clockwork (1979), starring Scott Spiegel (who had appeared in Within the Woods) and Cheryl Guttridge. Through family, friends, and a network of investors, Raimi was able to finance production of the highly successful horror film The Evil Dead (1981), which became a cult hit and effectively launched Raimi's career.
He began work on his third film Crimewave (1985), which he co-wrote with the then-unknown Coen brothers, shortly after. Intended as a live-action comic book, the film was unsuccessful, partly due to unwanted studio intervention. Raimi then returned to the horror genre with the seminal Evil Dead II (which added slapstick humor to the over-the-top horror, showcasing his love of the Three Stooges). With his brother Ivan Raimi (and crediting himself as Celia Abrams), Sam Raimi also wrote Easy Wheels (1989), which parodied the Outlaw biker film genre. A long-time comic book buff, he then attempted to adapt "The Shadow" into a movie but was unable to secure the rights, so he created his own superhero, Darkman (1990). The film was his first major studio picture, and was commercially successful, spawning two sequels. Through it he was still able to secure funding for Evil Dead III, which was retitled Army of Darkness and largely steered away from horror towards fantasy and comedy elements. Army of Darkness, the final movie in the Evil Dead trilogy, commercially underperformed, yet on video became a cult classic.
In the 1990s, Raimi moved into other genres, directing such films as the western The Quick and the Dead (starring Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman), the highly acclaimed crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998) (starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton), and the romantic drama For Love of the Game (1999) (starring Kevin Costner).
Raimi has frequently collaborated with Joel and Ethan Coen, beginning when Joel was one of the editors of Evil Dead. The Coens co-wrote Crimewave and The Hudsucker Proxy with Raimi in the mid-1980s (though Hudsucker was not produced for almost a decade). Raimi made cameo appearances in Miller's Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy, and with Joel Coen in Spies Like Us. The Coen brothers gave Raimi advice on shooting in snow for A Simple Plan, based on their experiences with Fargo.
Television
In addition to film, Raimi has worked in television, producing such series as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, both featuring his younger brother Ted Raimi and long-time friend Bruce Campbell, American Gothic, Cleopatra 2525, M.A.N.T.I.S., 13: Fear Is Real, Young Hercules, and Jack of All Trades. In 2008, Raimi executive-produced a syndicated TV series called Legend of the Seeker, based on Terry Goodkind's best-selling The Sword of Truth fantasy series. He also executive produced the Starz original television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned. He directed the pilot episode of Ash vs Evil Dead for Starz.
Personal life
In 1993, Raimi married Gillian Greene, the daughter of Canadian actor Lorne Greene. They have five children; their three eldest, daughter Emma Rose and sons Lorne and Henry, appeared as extras in Drag Me to Hell and during the final battle in Spider-Man 3. Greene filed for divorce on May 8, 2024, citing irreconcilable differences. His daughter, Emma Raimi appeared in his 2026 film, Send Help.
Political donations
In 1995, Raimi donated $450 to the campaign of then-Republican Senator Arlen Specter. In 2002, he donated $1,000 to Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. During the 2004 election cycle, Raimi donated $1,000 to Republican President George W. Bush. Most recently, Raimi donated $2,950 to Hillary Clinton's campaign early in the 2016 election cycle.