Sam Raimi on UK TV show Central Weekend ( '87? ) Part 2

Sam Raimi defends horror movies against pompous politicians who haven't even seen his films. I think this was just before Evil Dead II was released.

[@fudgepopdog3854]

This is freaking ridiculous. Props to Raimi for keeping it cool

[@NoneOfyourBusiness468]

We had the same discussion in Sweden about "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and this was a civil discussion between intelligent people.

[@noahking3723]

The guy in front keeps saying there is conclusive evidence supporting his points and yet in the entire video he doesn't cite one fucking concrete source at all. Makes me sick. Respect to Sam Raimi for putting up with this bullshit.

[@GilbertSyndrome]

It's almost like he's talking absolute bollocks.

[@shniggle99]

All these people are heckling and hassling Sam to no end, not letting him say a goddamn thing and twisting all this words and insulting his films. Twenty years later, he's a gazillionaire. Sam's got the last laugh.

[@marko6219]

Sam Raimi has the patience of a saint to deal with this bullshit

[@nai3346]

It makes you wonder how many of these grandstanders who went after him made sure to avoid his more mainstream works like the Spider-Man movies when they found out that disgusting filth peddler had directed them.

[@yogeshatrey1901]

This has only increased my love for Sam Raimi...the way he handled the situation is something to look upto

[@Anophathalm]

Funny how things went out for Sam. We Horror fans adore his Evil Dead franchise, 2 decades later he shot movies with the highest budgets (even for Disney) and he can easily laugh all the way to the bank. I grew up with Evil Dead in the 80s and is still one of my all-time favorite horror movies. I am glad Sam never backed down and did what he wanted to do - GO SAM! :D

[@sparkkle2]

Could that Jamie Bogle dude look more like a fuckin' villain? And good on Sam for keeping it civil during this barrage. Gotdamn, that guy is chill as hell.

[@MylekHolliday]

This was hard to watch. I lost my shit when that lady brought up violence against women. Are you serious? I don't know how Sam was able to stay so calm. I would have been insulting them one by one.

[@jwnj9716]

I can imagine you watching this and going stop it stop it STOP IT!!!!!!!!

[@VampireJack10]

"If there is an Evil Dead 3 I was thinking about bringing the Evil Dead to Britain....." - and of course he DID! :)

[@j.b.9260]

Yes, but it was shot in California.

[@chriskintz2246]

This is as infuriating as it is fascinating. Raimi keeps it together super well though. You have to respect that!

[@fatmasalem4477]

Sam Raimi, please make more films like the Evil Dead. I truly can't get enough of them. And I thank you for creating such a timeless masterpiece. Really thank you.👍

[@senatikaijuandmore]

If you saw the alternate ending to Army of Darkness, it ends with a destroyed Britain

[@GilbertSyndrome]

If you think that this is a British issue and not a worldwide one, you're naive.

[@OneManProduct]

Well, if you ask me, then Evil Dead was a hell of a fun, and this interview traumatic.

[@hailtothechin955]

All this grief for Evil Dead and Evil Dead II?! This is like a live action KZbin comment thread for Spider-Man 3!

[@thestallion9425]

wow, nick frost aged really good...

[@ssocratesboy]

If it wasn't for this type of publicity Evil Dead 2 would never have performed so well at the box office. What marketing! , all these archaic clowns describing the terror and horror of Evil Dead, I bet Sam just saw pounds signs. You can't buy that kind of advertising.

[@AndrewCARNBORN]

Jesus Christ props to Sam for dealing with this they barely let the poor man speak Also the guy at 7:11 is based

[@ManubibiWalsh]

Sam was so calm and poised throughout this. I would have rolled my eyes at least every 10 seconds. It's no wonder though, since Brits are the original puritans. But props to the people in the audience who used some goddamn common sense and thought the whole discussion was unnecessary because horror movies don't provoke violence, society does. It's merely a game of scapegoating in order to maintain the status quo.

[@GilbertSyndrome]

No, Brits are not the original puritans. Purity doesn't have any specific nationality.

[@Trilaan]

This was great to see. I just wanted Sam to point out the influence of The Three Stooges on him and that, really, the "horror" in his films are just Three Stooges routines with a little more blood thrown in. I think I liked the big guy the best from the audience.

[@ZoneHorror.]

I absolutely love 'The Evil Dead' it's my favorite horror film of all time. And my favorite film of all time. Yes, it's gruesome. But there are far more worse horror films out there. To name a few, Cannibal Holocaust, The Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, The New York Ripper...so on and so fourth. What makes these films worse than 'The Evil Dead' is that they seem so real. There is nothing supernatural going on in these films. No spirits, demons, or possession. Someone could go out there, get a knife and start killing, raping or mutilating someone. No one, I repeat NO ONE can read from an ancient book and have themselves of their friends possessed. And certainly, no one can be attacked by a tree. I rest my case.

[@madajas6100]

Oh gawd, I remember this program, it was broadcast every Friday night. It just came to the point where I just couldn't bear watching it any more. So many infuriating guests on this show that would just never shut up. Good on Sam though for keeping calm through this interrogation.

[@BikiniDeathSquad]

People in the UK like this is why the Video Nasties list happened. And all it did was create even more obsession for horror.

2:57 Holy shit, Nick Frost was there too? :D :D

[@theebevinann]

It is quite amazing how times have seemingly changed, being a Canadian who grew up in the 80's I can remember these times and debates and arrogant posturing that was supposedly to benefit the youth of the times. Sam Raimi definitely kept his cool, AND had the last laugh.It comes down to the art... if any of those twats new what was involved in the making of those movies, especially with no real spfx and/or budget? They might have little more respect for Raimi.

[@Sims_E]

Where are all those censorship loosers and where is Sam Raimi today :))

[@PepsisElectronicMusic]

just a load of boring cunts with no sense of humour

[@TheDeaditeSlayer]

This video frustrates me to no end! It is true that things have changed so much, but movies like The Human Centipede 2, Grotesque, and A Serbian Film are still getting unfair treatment in Britain. I love how celebrated the Evil Dead trilogy is across the world now. Some of the best collectors of the trilogy live in the UK!

[@pauld9421]

Fab to see the great Alan Frank in the audience

[@JazzFan76]

They kept cutting Sam off when he's trying to make a point.

[@sagarmahour4110]

yeah

[@FilmFan217]

That's what British people do alot

[@GilbertSyndrome]

@@FilmFan217 You appear to have never seen an American talkshow featuring a decisive figure.

[@FilmFan217]

@@GilbertSyndrome the British are just as bad as Americans when it comes to interrupting guests on talk shows, so really not much difference

[@GilbertSyndrome]

@@FilmFan217 The fact that you believe that completely fabricated opinion says it all, really. You're as asinine as the guests on this show, spouting complete nonsense. You're so butthurt about some US v UK rivalry that you actually submit to the same kind of idiocy that you pretend to be against. Well done 👌

[@AdrianMendoza23]

Poor Sam. Watching this is making me want to run out of the room, god knows how he felt.

[@SofaPop.]

The chad raimi vs the virgin Bri’ish

[@deanh7032]

In 2023 Sam Raimi wouldn't recognise any of these people's names if you said them to him, but they'd certainly recognise his. Imagine their response back then had he shown them 'the gift', 'a simple plan' or 'spiderman'....

[@karenshaub8273]

Poor Sam. They really gave it to him. I hate to think of what testifying in British court must have been like for him.

[@gregkaczynski6885]

"Well, Hansel and Gretel isn't real..." but Deadites are?? Okay, guy.

[@fosterzgreat]

The way they talk to Sam is disgusting, its just a movie

[@horrorfanandy4647]

When the woman accused him of profiting off violence against women and the whole audience started clapping. Oh my god… I would have lost my shit if I was him. Such a baseless accusation. The closest he’s ever come to genuine misogyny was the vine scene in the first Evil Dead, and that was only because they wanted to make the scene as shocking as possible, not to specifically target women. Both him and Rob Tapert later regretted doing it, hence why Bobby Joe is only _attacked_ not _well… assaulted_ by the vines in the same film they’re debating here! Absolutely ridiculous. And let’s not forget that absolute twat in the front who said “he’d seen enough of it” as if that gives you a genuine impression of what the film is like. For example, I saw bits and pieces of The Shining when I was about 10, and that built an impression in my head, but when I finally watched it, it was completely different from what I was anticipating. Bloody idiot.

[@mjspresents]

Look at Sam "the Man" Raimi taking it like a man from these chumps. Horror films have been around for decades before Evil Dead, horror novels and comics have been around for centuries before Evil Dead, and they sit and whine to placate that nagging sense of self-righteousness.

[@leothelion19]

WTF THEY JUST BROADCASTED OLD HAMMER HORROR MOVIES RIGHT AFTER HECKLEING SAM RAIMI FOR DOING THE SAME EXACT THING

[@GilbertSyndrome]

With no sense of irony.

[@laseraw]

were are these people now? i dont know, but i sure know were sam raimi is... hard at work on massive film projects, mainstream blockbusters and horror productions as well as in most movie history books.

[@alexnewman5338]

Sam is the mayor of zen.

[@alexnewman5338]

Something obvious I suppose: the evil dead movies are kinda silly, in a good way. They're over the top ridiculous and weird. It's 3 Stooges melded with Lovecraft. It's kind of bizarre to have a problem with them. They're harmless. They're bizarre films with paranormal business. Are these people afraid that people are going to choose to be possessed by demons?

[@Maximillionaire666]

I'm glad I wasn't around in the 80s. This video more or less epitomises the stupidity and ignorance of the video nasties era.

[@GilbertSyndrome]

It's still very much evident today.

[@UniversalX1]

I'm glad I was born in the 90s because this is bull lol

[@alexnewman5338]

I don't understand the shouts of "shame"

[@SockMonkey007]

I don't understand why she calls it "violence against women." Surely its violence against everything. Everyone gets attacked in that film. Are women supposed to just survive a horror movie unscathed?

[@GilbertSyndrome]

It's typical knee-jerk reaction by uneducated people when it comes to Horror in general.

[@gosztonnyino]

This is so infuriating I almost disliked the video

[@jwnj9716]

Imagine how they would react to a Tarantino film.

[@HPRam]

If you google James ("Jamie") Bogle, he qualified as a barrister in 1991. You can look his profile up at 10 King's Bench Walk Chambers. Lost quite a bit of his hair but the side parting's still there.

[@jonathansutcliffe3401]

admitting that media saturated imagery depicting violence has an effect on the society (directly or indirectly...) it is aimed at is poo-poohed these days. it is very interesting that there were folk who advocated such themes to be studied, it is certainly worthy of note. i think if you are intelligent enough to understand the human condition that you will be able to divest yourself of the themes explored - i mean can you differentiate illusion from reality/fact from fiction... Yes, i agree with director - making films for entertainment - how else would he be able to make cinematic enterprises without making a profit? maybe our sam should go out and make a horror movie which depicts all the hellish and sadistic episodes from classical literature whether shakespeare or greek myth etc etc etc... titus andronicus maybe a case in point - the version starring anthony hopkins wherein his daughter is left disfigured and tied to a tree... etc... if you don't like what you see - switch off!!!!! if it says 18 certificate you have to be on th eball and stop your kids from watching such movies.... personally, i was left to watch horror movies as a 9 year old onwards... whether hammer or american b-movies... i love my horror movies and i also believe that over saturation of violent images will have an effect on those of weak disposition.

[@GilbertSyndrome]

Nonsense argument. Those of a "weak disposition" can theoretically be influenced by almost anything, hence why censorship over guidance isn't how to go about it. People who want to kill other people don't need a Horror movie or a knife to do so.

[@MovieMoan]

I apologize on behalf of my country.

[@GilbertSyndrome]

Why? Did your country do the dirty on the Evil Dead? Not really. It actually became a very popular movie in the UK and influenced a lot of people.

[@faisalal-jadir1616]

No one has ever asked Merchant-ivory productions if they could screen their films for free. Want snobbery.

[@therexbellator]

If people are getting upset at this don't blame the production or the audience, blame Sam Raimi, he should have prepped better for this production. Maybe he figured it would be free exposure for Evil Dead II and just went with it. The two gentlemen in the audience did a better job defending his position than he did. They understood the issues and what was being argued; Sam Raimi just shrugged his shoulders and was just "I like to entertain people man." While I don't care for the pro-ban people at all, I think we also have to keep in mind historical and social contexts. Nowadays Evil Dead I and II are classics, I love them, but horror movies have had a long sordid history going back as far as the 60s and they had a lot of overlap with porn flicks, so naturally people tended to lump them together especially 80s audiences.

[@diannajennings266]

Well he wasn't really allowed to talk if you watch the whole show.They constantly interrupted and stop him mid-sentence everytime he tried to say something.

[@GilbertSyndrome]

He's a young kid who just made a movie on a shoestring budget that blew up. He deserves credit just for agreeing to go on the show and staying polite throughout.

[@therexbellator]

@@GilbertSyndrome It's not my goal to be unkind to Raimi. After all I consider myself a fan. Perhaps Raimi assumed that UK audiences would have been more sympathetic, or, perhaps he assumed it would be an informal discussion and didn't realize they'd be setting him against a man who made a career policing 'decency' in media. Either way he comes off like a lightweight entering a ring with a seasoned heavyweight. Yes, he deserves credit for being there but he squandered the opportunity to properly defend his craft and career from moralizing alarmists.

[@GilbertSyndrome]

@@therexbellator But again you're acting like he's some crusader for the Horror army, he's not. This showing clearly didn't hurt his cause, it helped it, it's the best promotion he could have gotten at this time. Plenty of directors and writers went on these shows in the 80s and 90s, and none of them left having converted or convinced anyone who was against what they were doing, which wasn't the point to begin with.

[@therexbellator]

@@GilbertSyndrome I don't know why you're bickering over this. Firstly this wasn't some nightly talk show Raimi was on so your point about "its the best promotion he could have gotten" just doesn't hold up. This show was the equivalent of Donahue, it would have shown on daytime television, not exactly the crowd that goes to see horror movies. However, logically speaking, the "best promotion" Raimi could have done is to, you know, be prepared to refute the conservative guy's points to show that horror films aren't a social/public danger but instead he just stumbles and repeats himself and never offers a single solid refutation except "hey I'm an entertainer!" However, even if Raimi's appearance here made Evil Dead 2 a massive hit in the UK, his debate performance here is still abysmal; my point is that Raimi's success in promoting the film is mutually exclusive to his poor performance here, both can be true. I am simply calling it as I see it: I love Raimi but he's out of his depth here. Maybe he got a few extra eyeballs to see ED2, maybe he didn't, but that doesn't change the fact that he got trounced by a far more sophisticated spokesman who came prepared. If you can't understand where I'm coming from, and can't set aside your fandom for Raimi aside, then let's just agree to disagree. Downvote me an move on.

[@SteveCameronProductions]

How many kids ran out and broke their legs or worse jumping off houses or garages with umbrellas after seeing the movie Mary Poppins? Or jumped off a cliff after watching Wiley Coyote do it and live? Energy should be put into educating children on how to identify reality from fantasy, instead attempting to put blame on the artist for such acts.

[@horrorfanandy4647]

Those bastards make my blood boil with their absolutely awful line of argument. Props to Sam for keeping his cool and defending himself and the horror genre with a polite and respectful tone, because I would have walked out were I in his position. Thankfully we as a society have mostly moved on from this and the “video games cause violence” debate. Time for the next generation of idiots to find a new scapegoat.

[@chuffs5286]

don't criticize What you can't understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is rapidly agin' Please get out of the new one If you can't lend your hand For the times they are a-changin'

[@stevenwatson3963]

Put 50 plus people in a room,and you get a sheeps mindset.The individuals thoughts no longer exist.The masses ,shepherd the masses.Basic stuff.

[@Curttehmurt]

inorite? that guy looks just like him

[@_Quint_]

Right near the end and almost muffled out by the rowdy speakers in the background (this host was terrible at managing his studio audience), you can just about hear the film critic say it's a matter of parental responsibility. There you have it, end of discussion. All these idiots blaming artists like Rami instead of taking some personal responsibility for what goes on in their on fucking households.

[@alexnewman5338]

5:00 whoa what the fuck is all those people's malfunction? Even if he went way into the black with ED1 why is that a problem? Got some grody profit-phobes.

[@alexnewman5338]

You guys smoke doobs?

[@crazywiener11]

This is not ridiculous whatsoever, what they're talking about here is not the content, but the reaction to the content. The content is not human, but the reaction is. Human reaction creates also on others, a similar or dissimilar reaction. It is in effect a ripple reaction.

[@kylewilson7653]

Maybe for like 1\10 people they will mimick the violence in the movie but its very low at best, I mean are you gonna watch it or not are you gonna fly in a plane or drive a car even though you can die at that time they did have ratings and is it impossible that a kid might listen to his parents and not watch the movie and if he still will then hide it and put it out of his reach and for adults I don't think they won't be able to handle it I mean its a movie not real life I'm not going to copy what happened in evil dead I sure don't want to be chased around by possessed people and kill my friends the movie doesn't make me want to do it at all and the rape scene although it does hint toward rape when the log goes in her pants its our own imagination that convinces us it was rape it didn't actually show it going inside of her we could have taken it differently we could have thought it just hit her leg but we didn't and Sam raimi thank you for making a great film