The new Marvel movie comes from the director of the Evil Dead and Drag Me To Hell.
When it comes to the Marvel movies, they have all been superhero movies (obviously), but some had a dash of another genre thrown in for good measure.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier had some political thriller, Ant-Man had some heist movie in there, Eternals went epic sci-fi, while Thor went almost Shakespearean.
With the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, that additional flavour would appear to be horror. The first Doctor Strange movie was directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister, The Black Phone), and the sequel is directed by Sam Raimi, who previously has strong Marvel connections having helmed the first Spider-Man trilogy, but he also is the man behind the Evil Dead movies and Drag Me To Hell.
In the run-up the movie's release, JOE's own Rory Cashin chatted to the movie's star Benedict Cumberbatch, and you can check out that interview in full right here:
During the course of the chat, which included what advice Cumberbatch gave to MCU new arrival America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez), he also discussed that extra horror influx into the Doctor Strange sequel.
Cumberbatch told us: "It has definitely got jump scares in it, which he brilliantly brought to the Spider-Man franchise, especially the second film. There are definitely elements of schlock horror, as well.
"Scott Derrickson-type horror? Not so much. I need to careful around this term, because horror has a very big family. It can range in anything from The Haunting of Emily Rose to The Shining to It.
"There was a statement of intent for this to be the most scary Marvel film yet. What do you think was the most scary Marvel movie so far and I'll tell you if this matches up to to it?"
Thinking on this, JOE reckons the closest the MCU has gotten to proper scary stuff was arrival of the titular character in 2015's Avengers: Age Of Ultron.
Upon hearing this answer, Cumberbatch responds: "This is definitely more scary than Age Of Ultron. Definitely. I would say it is more creepy and it goes into some very dark territory.
"And I am no horror aficionado. Not for not being a fan, I'm just not very good with them! I end up staying up all not worrying and having terrible nightmares. I'm very suggestible, so every creak in the house becomes whatever it is I've just been watching. It is pretty unbearable.
"But having said that, don't expect an all-out horror, but a darker tone, some comedy shock-horror and some good jump scares, as well."
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in Irish cinemas on Thursday, 5 May. You can check out our interview with Cumberbatch's co-star Benedict Wong right here:
Starring Seth Rogen, it’s also one of the best movies of the year so far. The Invite, easily the funniest film we’ve seen in 2026 so far, is now available to watch in cinemas. An English-language remake of the 2020 Spanish hit The People Upstairs, the movie was made by director Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, Don’t […]
It doesn’t get much wilder than this Actor Colin Farrell was one of the lucky ones to have met footballing legend Diego Maradona, and he recounted the experience of meeting his idol during a World Cup programme. Few footballers on the planet have been as universally adored as Maradona, who famously won the World Cup […]
The Western film has a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. Our TV movie pick for tonight (Friday, 3 July) is Winchester ’73, the 1950 Western noir starring James Stewart (It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo). The black-and-white oater follows Lin McAdam (Stewart), an avenging sharpshooter, who rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown […]
