Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness contains one of the creepiest sequences in the long Marvel filmography. In it, The Scarlet Witch played by Elizabeth Olsen shows the real extent of her power. And that includes stopping an entire team of superheroes in the cruelest and most violent way imaginable. We are of course referring to the already iconic scene in the Illuminati room, in which Wanda faces the heroes of the alternative universe. A violent confrontation that ends in a very harsh sequence that has even surprised Sam Raimi himself. Which is surprising considering that this is the man who changed the horror genre with several of the films in his filmography.
Sam Raimi’s film became a smash hit at the box office and one of the most amazing releases of the year. The film successfully managed to incorporate elements of horror cinema and explore the darkest of his characters. As if that weren’t enough, it drastically changed the general tone of the Marvel movies. One of its high points is the way the studio allowed Sam Raimi to bring much of his visual style to the film.
But Raimi’s well-known aesthetic wasn’t the only thing the director was able to bring to the film. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness it is more focused on the inner darkness of its characters. As much as to dare to show unknown spaces and places in the Marvel franchise. Not only did Raimi dare to experiment with a character closer than a horror monster than a traditional villain. Also, he populated the Marvel universe with zombies and corpses. But the most amazing thing was the way he managed to show the power of Wanda when facing the heroes of an alternate reality. The character not only surpasses them in power, but ends up murdering each one of them, with disturbing cruelty. For much of the public, it was an unexpected surprise. And for Sam Raimi too.
The man who creates monsters in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
In an interview for IndieWire, screenwriter Michael Waldron commented on the process of creating the violent scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And he detailed that even Raimi was shocked by the level of violence and ferocity in the scene. After all, until then Marvel had taken care that its productions met a specific standard. And that included, as little violence and bloody scenes as possible. But for the Doctor Strange sequel, the studio allowed its team to innovate, which of course had peculiar results.
“I wrote gruesome deaths because Sam Raimi was directing and I surprised Sam. He commented: Can we do this?, and I said: ‘You can. Because it’s you, I think we can’. I felt a lot of freedom to go crazy on this movie because it was Sam, and because I know what he’s so good at and he’d do it really well. I just gave you the basic components and some of the details of how those things work, [pero] It came straight out of his twisted mind.”
Michael Waldron for IndieWire
And the result has baffled and fascinated fans in equal parts. From a zombie flying in a layer of damned souls to a nightmare witch emerging from the shadows. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness by Raimi is an allegory of terror that stands out from the Marvel filmography and surprises with its possibilities. Quite a step in a new direction that much of the public — and Raimi fans — are grateful to enjoy.
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