Drag Me to Hell (2009)

A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi

Stars:

Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Ruth Livier

7 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alison Lohman	...	Christine Brown
Justin Long	...	Clay Dalton
Lorna Raver	...	Mrs. 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

Storyline

Christine Brown is a loans officer at a bank but is worried about her lot in life. She's in competition with a competent colleague for an assistant manager position and isn't too sure about her status with a boyfriend. Worried that her boss will think less of her if she shows weakness, she refuses a time extension on a loan to an old woman, Mrs. Ganush, who now faces foreclosure and the loss of her house. In retaliation, the old woman place a curse on her which, she subsequently learns, will result in her being taken to hell in a few days time. With the help of a psychic, she tries to rid herself of the demon, but faces several hurdles in the attempt.

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Plot Keywords:

psychic | evil | fight | psychologist | hell | 

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Taglines:

Even nice people can go to hell.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Australia]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Hungarian Czech

Release Date:

29 May 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Arrástrame al infierno

Filming Locations:

18421 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,825,480, 31 May 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$42,100,625

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,388,487

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Ghost House Pictures, Buckaroo Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Christine's house is a picture of a boat that resembles Anchor Bay's corporate logo. This company released many special editions of The Evil Dead (1981) trilogy by Sam Raimi.

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Goofs

When Mrs. Ganush puts her teeth back into her mouth, her real teeth can be seen. This happens when Mrs. Ganush attacks Christine in her car.

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Quotes

Rham Jas: That's quite all right. So, you wish to know something of your destiny. Very good. We shall see what the fates have in store.
Clay Dalton: Freud said destiny was not an act of fate but rather something created by our subconscious to control our conscious choices.
Rham Jas: That is true. But... "We should not pretend to understand the world only by intellect."
Clay Dalton: Carl Jung...
Rham Jas: Yes. From his treatise "Psychological Types".
Clay Dalton: Jung, the New Agers' favorite psychologist.
Rham Jas: Because he wasn't afraid to bring God into the equation.

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Crazy Credits

The 1970s 'When in Hollywood, visit Universal Studios' bumper is at the end credits.

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Alternate Versions

The unrated director's cut DVD adds four notable extended shots/sequences:

• 1. The scene where Christine's nose squirts blood is extended, adding a shot of blood pouring out of her mouth. She covers her mouth, causing the fountain of blood to erupt from her nose.
• 2. The shot of Christine raising the knife above her cat is extended, showing Christine plunging the knife down several times, with some squirting blood.
• 3. We also see the cat's bloodied body fall into the hole in Christine and Clay's yard, just before Christine begins to shovel dirt upon it.
• 4. When Christine drops the anvil on Mrs. Ganush, Christine still gets splattered with Mrs. Ganush's eyeballs and brain matter, but now it's blood red colored.

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Connections

References Curse of the Demon (1957)

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Soundtracks

Pathetique
An arrangement of "Piano Sonata No. 8 'Pathétique'"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed and Arranged by Chris Virzi

User Reviews

Sinister as only Sam Raimi can be

Personally I thought movies like the "Spiderman"-trilogy, "A Simple Plan" and "For Love Of The Game" were excellent, but they all shared a common flaw: they made Sam Raimi look like a mentally balanced person. "Drag Me To Hell" on the other hand wants none of that, it caters to the "Evil Dead"-crowd and does so very well. There isn't much of a story, but that's pretty much the point. Raimi has always stated he wants his horror flicks to be non-stop fun, and that's exactly what this is. It's a pretty stream of consciousness sort of thing, the feeble plot about Alison "Big Fish" Lohman getting cursed is just an excuse to come up with as much demented stuff as humanly possible. Put some maggots in a pie and then somehow make it bleed, why not huh? Anything goes here, that keeps things interesting throughout. You never know what's going to happen next, which is pretty damn scary. It's also a plus that eventually the movie works up to one of the the greatest climactic scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie, now that's what I call a finale. Overall this is a great movie that won't let anybody down.