I’m generally not too forgiving when respected artists squander their talents on hawking some product or another, opting to share, I’m afraid, the point-of-view of the late Bill Hicks ( “Do a commercial, you’re off the artistic roll call, every word you say is suspect, you’re a corporate whore…end of story”). We can all let our principles slip from time to time though, and I may have to do just that in this case, because one of modern horror’s most beloved directors has just directed an advert and, well, it’s kinda cool. I guess.
Approached by Chevrolet to help sell their newest wares, Sam Raimi made the 60-second ad the only way he knows how; as a horror movie. It may not match the rollercoaster thrills of Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell or even Oz The Great and Powerful, but as far as car adverts go, it’s pretty creepy.
“We approached the development of the Chevrolet trailer in the same way we would an actual movie—by thinking through the plot, characters and eventual outcome,” Raimi said in a statement. “I’ve been in plenty of theaters where the audience is so concerned for the safety of the main characters that they call out warnings to save them. That’s what this is based on.”
Watch Raimi’s ad below. And may God have mercy on his soul.
