SXSW Film Surprises: Raimi and Demme Bring the New Hotness

Isn't it great when your friends throw you a surprise party? It shows that they really wanted to impress upon you the fact that you are loved, and also that they cared enough to plan ahead. We kinda feel like SXSW is throwing us a little surprise party with their latest news: both Sam Raimi and Jonathan Demme will be bringing their newest films to this year's conference. Oh goodness, South By, you shouldn't have.

After spending the better part of the Aughts (what are we calling this decade again?) with a mainstream, web-slinging superhero, Raimi returns to his horror roots with his latest writer/director combo Drag Me to Hell, the story of a loan officer who, when forced to evict an old woman from her home, becomes the target of a deadly curse. Now, we aren't sure if Raimi had the current housing crisis in mind when penning his source material, but perhaps some sub-prime lenders out there should be forced to watch this—it's just an idea. All current events aside, we can't help but wonder: will the badass Bruce Campbell make an appearance? We guess that surprise will have to wait for another day. The film is still a work-in-progress, so the audience reaction during this special Midnight screening will no doubt shape and shift the finished product, making this a once in a lifetime event.

Coming off the wave of last year's critical darling Rachel Getting Married, Demme returns to a familiar subject with his Neil Young Trunk Show, which intimately follows Young as he assembles and presents a live concert, catching lighter moments backstage and between songs, along with onstage powerhouse performances of rare b-sides and rocking crowd pleasers. Demme, a master of mood and texture, shoots again in his seemingly favorite hand-held style, no doubt capturing Young in a different light than in his beautiful and accomplished Neil Young: Heart of Gold. We couldn't be more pleased that Demme, the writer and director of Stop Making Sense, one of our favorite music films of all time, has been added to the slate of films this year.

We are just a week and a half away from go time at this point, so if you haven't registered then we must ask: What are you waiting for? We don't want you to miss your very own surprise film party!