It’s been nearly three years since filmmakerSam Raimidirected a movie, 2013’sOz: The Great and Powerful, and nearly seven years since his last horror movie, 2009’sDrag Me to Hell. While the director has been keeping busy on the small screen with Starz’sAsh Vs. Evil Dead, which returns for its second season later this year, he also directed a new 60-secondhorrorshort film that serves as an ad for Chevrolet’s 2016 Malibu and Cruze vehicles. Here’s what the director had to say in a statement toAdWeek.
“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. 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.”
The ad follows a young woman who is exploring a creepy house, as we see a number of horror movie tropes on display. Just before entering a room, she gets warned by audience members who tell her not to go in, because there’s a monster waiting on the other side of that door. Fans will also get to see this on the big screen as well, since the ad will run in 2,300 theaters and 14,000 screens nationwide over the next six months.
The filmmaker most recently directed an episode ofAsh vs. Evil Deadand two episodes of the now-cancelled Fox series Rake. We reported last month that the filmmaker has signed on to direct aremakeof the critically-acclaimed French dramaA Prophet. Hopefully the experience of working on this ad will lead to the director making a new horror film, but we’ll have to wait and see.
This ad’s debut comes just a few weeks after theSuper Bowl, but it seems that Chevrolet didn’t want to spent the whopping $10 million to run this ad during the big game. Ad prices jumped from $4.5 million for a 30-second spot last year to $5 million for a half-minute of airtime this year. Are you glad thatSam Raimiis returning to his horror roots? Let us know what you think after watching this innovative ad below.
