Warning: This list contains spoilers for Doctor Strange 2.
Sam Raimi is the newest director of the MCU, delivering Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness to fans. Some will know that this is not Sam Raimi's first time directing for Marvel as he was behind the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy. However, horror fans will recognize his name from The Evil Dead franchise.
It would be easy to assume that Multiverse Of Madness more resembles Raimi's Spider-Man films. In actuality, there were many portions of the film that looked, sounded, and felt more akin to The Evil Dead, turning Multiverse Of Madness into a superhero horror film with Sam Raimi returning to his roots.
Comedic Gore
The Evil Dead movies were often as much comedies as they were horror. For every bit of blood or gore that was used for disturbing the audience, there was some to provide laughs.
That is also the case in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. When fighting the eyeball monster known as Gargantos, Strange defeats it by impaling its large eye. It's gruesome but it's immediately followed by Strange tearing the eye straight out for a gory but comedic effect.
The Darkhold
As the villain of the film, Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch is using the Book Of The Damned otherwise known as the Darkhold. The Darkhold allows her to summon demons and possess her variants in other universes. Though it was first introduced in WandaVision, it makes so much sense for Sam Raimi to direct a movie about it.
After all, Raimi was the one that turned the Necronomicon into an iconic piece of horror history in The Evil Dead movies, allowing the summoning of demons and the apocalypse. Even their designs are not too far off from one another.
Scarlet Witch Possessing 838-Wanda
Though a bit tamer, Multiverse Of Madness depicts the process of possession as painful and haunting when the Scarlet Witch possesses her variant from Earth-838. From the tilted angles and camera movements reminiscent of the famous laughing scene from Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn to Wanda's eyes changing, it all lines up.
It's not quite the same though. When anyone is possessed in The Evil Dead franchise, their face is warped and twisted in graphic ways which is absent from the MCU film.
Bruce Campbell Fighting His Hand
Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are longtime friends. Bruce has appeared in many of his films, including the Spider-Man trilogy. So fans cheered when Doctor Strange meets him on Earth-838 in Multiverse Of Madness, making for one of many memorable cameos.
Not only does Bruce Campbell appear but he and Sam Raimi tribute one of the most iconic sequences from Evil Dead II. Doctor Strange makes Campbell's hand start attacking him in a slapstick fashion, harking back to when a Deadite possessed Ash Williams' hand, which was also played for slapstick comedy.
Strange Fighting His Evil Clone
At the beginning of the third act, Doctor Strange comes to a universe where his variant failed to stop an incursion but was also corrupted by the Darkhold. It's here they battle and the evil Sinister Strange mocks the MCU Strange with twisted dark humor.
An evil clone is a common trope in comics but the dynamic here is pulled straight out of the third chapter of the Evil Dead trilogy: Army Of Darkness. In Army Of Darkness, Ash fights his evil clone born from a Deadite which is done much more comedically with MCU Strange delivering quips and quotes similar to Ash Williams.
Wanda Using Reflections
When Strange, Wong, and America Chavez attempt to shelter themselves in Kamar-Taj, Strange sends Wanda to the Mirror Dimension. This would trap most people but Wanda instead uses the dimension to her own advantage, using mirrors in the real world to kill anyone who opposes her.
She even crawls out of the mirror dimension in a deformed body before she mends herself. There are similarities to The Grudge, another horror film produced by Sam Raimi. However, the flash cuts, the twisting cinematography, and Scarlet Witch's movements are very much akin to elements of The Evil Dead.
The Tunnel Chase
Wanda pursues Strange, America, and Christine Palmer through a tunnel. The possessed Wanda covered in blood-like oil as she limps after them with glowing eyes is reminiscent of the Deadites. She even gives a jumpscare straight out of a horror movie.
At the same time, her limp, red eyes, and the heroes trying to close doors in front of her makes for a chase that is strangely similar to the climax of the first Terminator. This is fitting considering the movie is all about Doctor Strange protecting a young woman from a ruthless monster that wants to kill her.
Spirits Of The Damned
Keeping to his character, Doctor Strange is willing to risk everything for the greater good and even the multiverse. Out of desperation, he succumbs to Wanda's level and uses the Darkhold which summons the spirits of the damned.
These spirits taunt and toy with Strange in creepy yet over-the-top voices, which is blatantly similar to how some of the Deadites would taunt Ash Williams. Of course, Sam Raimi's trickery with the camera and editing is present throughout, making for the closest thing to a crossover between Marvel and Evil Dead.
Zombie Strange
The climax of Multiverse Of Madness has what is essentially a reverse of The Evil Dead formula. Strange uses the power of the Darkhold to not only harness the spirits of the damned but also possess his dead variant. Not only is it an impressive display of mixing practical makeup with CGI but it harkens back to whenever someone is possessed by a Deadite in The Evil Dead films.
This climax in particular is reminiscent of when Ash Williams is possessed at the beginning of Evil Dead II. Only in this case, Strange is in control which leads to a spectacle of horror and action combined with the humor of seeing Doctor Strange with a decayed face.