Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers (WGA):

Sam Raimi (written by) &
Ivan Raimi (written by)

Release Date:

29 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she's going to hell.

Plot:

A loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, which turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Button | Curse | Gypsy | Loan Officer

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Alison Lohman	...	Christine Brown
Justin Long	...	Clay Dalton
Lorna Raver	...	Sylvia Ganush
Dileep Rao	...	Rham Jas
David Paymer	...	Mr. Jacks
Adriana Barraza	...	Shaun San Dena
Chelcie Ross	...	Leonard Dalton
Reggie Lee	...	Stu Rubin
Molly Cheek	...	Trudy Dalton
Bojana Novakovic	...	Ilenka Ganush
Kevin Foster	...	Milos
Alexis Cruz	...	Farm Worker
Ruth Livier	...	Farm Worker’s Wife
Shiloh Selassie	...	Farm Worker's Son
Flor de Maria Chahua	...	Young Shaun San Dena

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of horror violence, terror, disturbing images and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Hungarian | Czech

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45266) | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Ireland:15A | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | France:-12 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:PG | Germany:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Iceland:16 | South Africa:16LV | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:18 | Argentina:13 | Mexico:B | Japan:G | Brazil:14 | Austria:16

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Sam Raimi named David Paymer's character after his long time friend producer James Jacks.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Christine is at Clay's parents house eating the cake, she first eats and touches it with a fork. Once the vision stops she starts eating again, only this time with a spoon. Later when the fly pops out of Christine's mouth, Clay's mom looks at an uneaten piece of cake (maybe Christine's, maybe not) and it has fork.

Quotes:

Rham Jas: You'd be surprised what you'll do, when the Lamia comes for you.

Movie Connections:

References El día de la bestia (1995)

Soundtrack:

Pathetique

Intense and Funny - Classic Sam Raimi

The early trailers for Drag Me to Hell dubbed it as (sic) "the return to classic horror", and for once at least, they are correct.

Sam Raimi manages to incorporate genuine thrills and terror using the old-fashioned format of surprise, misdirection and suggestion. As a frequent viewer of horror films, little surprises me, but in this film I was caught off-guard several times while watching it.

While the majority of the movie is kept on a serious and foreboding level, much like the original "Evil Dead", Raimi can't help but throw in elements of the absurd and slapstick during some of the more horrific scenes, thus reducing the tension and echoing the latter 2/3 of the "Evil Dead" trilogy.

WHile I have nothing against the modern trend of horror movies to provide shocks merely in the form of how much blood and gore they spill, this flick was wonderfully refreshing. It's a must-see, not just for Raimi fans, but for anyone who loves a good scary story and a great movie in general.