Sam Raimi is directing a new horror movie for the first time in 15 years and it's being compared to Stephen King's Misery

Sam Raimi is stepping back into the horror fold with his new movie, one that has a unique elevator pitch: Stephen King’s Misery meets Cast Away.

As per Deadline, Raimi – whose horror work stretches back decades to 1981’s The Evil Dead – will helm Send Help, a new "horror thriller" from 20th Century Studios.

Little is known about the project’s premise, only that it’s set on an island. Indeed, that’s led the outlet to state: "The story is said to fall somewhere between Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation Misery and Robert Zemeckis’ classic Cast Away."

Misery, the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King’s 1987 novel, revolves around the concept of a writer (James Caan) held hostage by his "number one fan" Annie (Kathy Bates). He is then tasked with rewriting the ending to a series of romance novels starring the character of Misery Chastain after Annie discovers she dies at the end.

Cast Away, directed by Robert Zemeckis, features Tom Hanks star as Chuck, a FedEx employee who finds himself stranded on a deserted island – with little more than a volleyball for company.

All in all, an intriguing premise for Raimi to work with – and one that sees Raimi return to the horror genre properly for the first time since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell. Raimi’s recent work included the horror-tinged Marvel sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen.

Send Help is currently undated. For more, check out the new horror movies set to scare you silly in 2024 and beyond, plus our picks for the best horror movies ever made.