Attack of the Helping Hand

Last updated
Attack of the Helping Hand
Directed by Scott Spiegel
Written byScott Spiegel
Produced byScott Spiegel
StarringLinda Quiroz
Sam Raimi
Cinematography Bruce Campbell
Sam Raimi
(uncredited)
Distributed byThe Metropolitan Film Group
Release date
  • 1979 (1979)
Running time
Six minutes
LanguageEnglish

Attack of the Helping Hand is a 1979 dark comedy horror short film written and directed by Scott Spiegel and starring Linda Quiroz and Sam Raimi. Bruce Campbell played the uncredited roles of The Hamburger Helper Helping Hand and The Pillsbury Doughboy. [1]

Contents

Plot

Linda Quiroz plays a woman at home who prepares to make "Hamburger Helper." [2] When she sets the box on the countertop and turns away, the Hamburger Helper Helping Hand materializes out of nowhere next to it. [3] It comes to life, talks to her, and tries to strangle her. She tries drowning it in the kitchen sink, which doesn't work; it appears dead for a moment, but then spits the water in her face, runs away and hides. While she searches for it, the milkman (Sam Raimi) shows up with a delivery. [4] He touches her on the shoulder, and she mistakes him for the helping hand, then wrestles him to the floor. When he tells her where the hand is hiding, it then proceeds to kill the milkman with a kitchen knife in retaliation for "telling on him". The woman resorts to trapping the Hand in a bucket. The Hand screams that it is suffocating and plays dead. As she searches for a trash bag to dispose of the dead Hand, it escapes. She catches it and puts it through the blender, killing it. She then proceeds to continue preparing her meal, and opens a can of biscuit dough, only to find the Pillsbury Doughboy on her countertop, presumably starting her ordeal all over again.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Campbell</span> American actor (born 1958)

Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead horror series, beginning with the short movie Within the Woods (1978). He has also featured in many low-budget cult movies such as Crimewave (1985), Maniac Cop (1988), Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002).

<i>The Evil Dead</i> 1981 film by Sam Raimi

The Evil Dead is a 1981 American independent supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi. The film stars Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly as five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in the woods, where they find an audio tape that, when played, releases a legion of demons and spirits. Four members of the group suffer from demonic possession, forcing the fifth member, Ash Williams (Campbell), to survive an onslaught of increasingly gory mayhem.

<i>Evil Dead II</i> 1987 film by Sam Raimi

Evil Dead II is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Sam Raimi, who co-wrote it with Scott Spiegel. The second installment in the Evil Dead film series, it is considered both a remake and sequel to The Evil Dead (1981). It stars Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, who vacations with his girlfriend to a remote cabin in the woods. He discovers an audio tape of recitations from a book of ancient texts, and when the recording is played, it unleashes a number of demons which possess and torment him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Raimi</span> American filmmaker (born 1959)

Samuel M. Raimi is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for directing the first three films in the Evil Dead franchise (1981–present) and the Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the superhero movie Darkman (1990), the revisionist western The Quick and the Dead (1995), the neo-noir crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998), the supernatural thriller The Gift (2000), the supernatural horror Drag Me to Hell (2009), the Disney fantasy Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and the Marvel Studios film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

<i>The Quick and the Dead</i> (1995 film) 1995 film by Sam Raimi

The Quick and the Dead is a 1995 American revisionist Western film directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio. The screenplay was written by Simon Moore, but includes contributions from Joss Whedon. The story focuses on "The Lady" (Stone), a gunfighter who rides into the frontier town of Redemption, controlled by John Herod (Hackman). The Lady joins a deadly dueling competition in an attempt to exact revenge for her father's death.

<i>Within the Woods</i> 1978 short film directed by Sam Raimi

Within the Woods is an 1978 horror short film written, directed and produced by Sam Raimi. Raimi drew inspiration from his earlier short film Clockwork, deciding to produce a proof of concept horror film to help build the interest of potential investors. Raimi cast his friends Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss as the two protagonists and produced the film for $1,600. Shot on location in a remote cabin in the woods, production was a difficult process because of the low budget. Several of the special effects presented in the film were done in a severely low budget manner, some of which were improvised on set. The film centers around demonic possession and mysterious forces originating from the woods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pillsbury Doughboy</span> Mascot for the Pillsbury Company

Poppin' Fresh, more widely known as the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising mascot for the Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2005 ended with a human finger poking the Doughboy's belly. The Doughboy responds by giggling when his belly is poked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburger Helper</span> Packaged food product with ground beef

Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product manufactured by Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate, with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box with browned ground beef ("hamburger"), water, and, with some varieties, milk to create a complete one-dish meal.

USS <i>Pillsbury</i> (DD-227) United States Navy destroyer (1920–1942)

USS Pillsbury (DD-227) was a Clemson-class destroyer of the United States Navy that served during World War II and the first of two ships named after John E. Pillsbury, a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. She was sunk by Japanese cruisers, approximately 200 miles east of Christmas Island on or around 2 March 1942 with all hands, one of two major American surface warships lost in World War II with no survivors.

<i>Darkman</i> 1990 American film by Sam Raimi

Darkman is a 1990 American superhero film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. Based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s, the film stars Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake, who is brutally attacked, disfigured, and left for dead by ruthless mobster Robert Durant, after his girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings, runs afoul of corrupt developer Louis Strack Jr.. After a treatment to cure him of his burn injuries fails, Westlake develops super-human abilities, which also have the unintended side-effect of rendering him mentally unstable and borderline psychotic. Consumed with vengeance, he decides to hunt down those who disfigured him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ash Williams</span> Fictional character

Ashley Joanna "Ash" Williams is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Evil Dead franchise. Created by Sam Raimi, he is portrayed by Bruce Campbell and is the only character to appear in each entry of the series, including a post-credits and audio cameo in the 2013 and 2023 soft reboot films, respectively. Throughout the series, Ash faces off against "Deadites", evil creatures possessed by the ancient evil of the Kandarian Demon. Ash, since his debut, has been considered a cultural icon and an iconic horror hero. In 2008, Ash was selected by Empire magazine as the 24th greatest movie character of all time, and in 2013, was voted by Empire as the greatest horror movie character ever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pizza snack rolls</span> Food product

Pizza snack rolls are a frozen food product consisting of bite-sized breaded pizza pockets with an interior of tomato sauce, imitation cheese and various pizza toppings. They are sold in a variety of flavors including cheese, pepperoni, sausage, supreme, multiple imitation cheeses, and mixed meats. Other flavors included hamburger, cheeseburger, ham and cheese, and combination. Pizza snack rolls are designed to be quickly cooked in the oven or microwave. The name "pizza rolls" is a trademark of General Mills, current owner of the original product.

<i>Intruder</i> (1989 film) 1989 American slasher film by Scott Spiegel

Intruder is a 1989 American slasher film written and directed by Scott Spiegel, and co-written and produced by Lawrence Bender. It received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise given for its unique setting of a grocery store for a slasher film.

<i>Drag Me to Hell</i> 2009 film by Sam Raimi

Drag Me to Hell is a 2009 American supernatural horror film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi with Ivan Raimi, starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, and Adriana Barraza. The story focuses on a loan officer, who, because she has to prove to her boss that she can make the "hard decisions" at work, chooses not to extend an elderly woman's mortgage. The old woman secretly places a retaliatory curse on her that, after three days of escalating torment, will plunge her into the depths of Hell to burn for eternity.

<i>Evil Head</i> 2012 American film

Evil Head is a 2012 American pornographic horror comedy film written and directed by Doug Sakmann, and co-written by Joanna Angel. It is based on the 1981 horror film The Evil Dead by Sam Raimi.

<i>Poltergeist</i> (2015 film) 2015 American film by Gil Kenan

Poltergeist is a 2015 American supernatural horror film directed by Gil Kenan, written by David Lindsay-Abaire, and produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Roy Lee. It is a remake of the 1982 film of the same name and is the fourth installment overall in the Poltergeist franchise. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, and Jane Adams, and follows a family who arrive at their new home and begin experiencing paranormal occurrences.

<i>Ash vs Evil Dead</i> American comedy horror television series

Ash vs Evil Dead is an American comedy horror television series developed by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy for Starz. The series is set in the Evil Dead universe created by Raimi, with Bruce Campbell reprising his role as Ash Williams from the film series. Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, and Lucy Lawless also star.

<i>Evil Dead Rise</i> 2023 American film by Lee Cronin

Evil Dead Rise is a 2023 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Lee Cronin. It is a standalone entry and the fifth installment in the Evil Dead film series. The film stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland as two estranged sisters trying to survive and save their family from deadites. Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher appear in supporting roles.

"El Jefe" is the series premiere of the American comedy horror television series Ash vs Evil Dead, which serves as a continuation of the Evil Dead trilogy, the first episodes of its first season. The episode was written by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi and Tom Spezialy, and directed by Sam Raimi. It originally aired on the premium channel Starz on October 31, 2015.

References

  1. "'Attack of the Helping Hand!': Early underground short with Sam Raimi". DangerousMinds. 2013-08-13. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  2. "Attack Of The Helping Hand! (1979)". Monster Facts | aminoapps.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  3. Naillon, Buffy (2023-07-31). "Strange Things Everyone Ignores About The Hamburger Helper Mascot". Mashed. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  4. Squires, John (2017-03-13). "Sam Raimi and Friends' 1979 Short 'Attack of the Helping Hand!' Foreshadowed 'Evil Dead 2'". Bloody Disgusting!. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-13.


References