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.
Christine Brown is a loan 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.Written by
garykmcd
In the movie, Shaun San Dena (Adriana Barraza) mentions her late husband Sander, a reference to both Sam Raimi's older sibling, Sander Raimi, who died in a swimming accident at age fifteen while on a trip to Israel, and his oldest nephew, Sander Rubin. See more »
Goofs
Christine enters the completely silent house of Sylvia Ganush. In room where Ganush lies, there is a kind of party with loud talk, laughing and music going on. Christine should've heard that long before entering the room. See more »
Quotes
Shaun San Dena:
[possessed by the Lamia]
I desire the SOUL of Christine Brown. We will FEAST upon it while she festers in the grave!
See more »
Crazy Credits
The 1970s 'When in Hollywood, visit Universal Studios' bumper is at the end credits. See more »
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.
"Drag Me To Hell" transports to you to the era of 1980's where blood, gore, chills and likes of "Nightmare on Elm Street" / "Evil Dead" spawned in plenty. And yes, for a welcome change "Drag Me To Hell" steers clear from the Japanese horror genre and pans out to be a very much American product.
Alison Lohman "i can shriek" delivers the right expressions warranted for a horror movie. Anything more would have been potential overdose.
Justin Long "Keanu Reeves impersonator" is plastic expressions all the way.
Reggie Lee "corporate pacman" does a good job of munching up everything that comes between him and the success ladder.
David Paymer "carrot dangler" knows how to make the rabbits dance to his tunes.
Lorna Raver "the trigger of Lamia curse" ensures to get etched in the memory and haunt you for a very long time.
Dileep Rao "amateur spiritualist" was okay'ish. It appears his part got hijacked by his Guru.
Flor de Maria Chahua "avenger in waiting" has a brief but effective role. And so was her assistant.
All in all "Drag Me To Hell" is both tacky and cheesy, but that doesn't stop it from sending shivers down the spine. The screenplay is void of drag moments ensuring the audience get fright doses at regular intervals. Good utilisation of visual effects and the background score alleviate the visual experience. The potholes in writing could have been easily creased out. Not exactly horror-comedy like "Shawn Of The Dead" but it does have well-interlaced comical moments between the chills.
Watchable fare... and yes a few days you potentially might abstain from using the staplers.
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"Drag Me To Hell" transports to you to the era of 1980's where blood, gore, chills and likes of "Nightmare on Elm Street" / "Evil Dead" spawned in plenty. And yes, for a welcome change "Drag Me To Hell" steers clear from the Japanese horror genre and pans out to be a very much American product.
Alison Lohman "i can shriek" delivers the right expressions warranted for a horror movie. Anything more would have been potential overdose.
Justin Long "Keanu Reeves impersonator" is plastic expressions all the way.
Reggie Lee "corporate pacman" does a good job of munching up everything that comes between him and the success ladder.
David Paymer "carrot dangler" knows how to make the rabbits dance to his tunes.
Lorna Raver "the trigger of Lamia curse" ensures to get etched in the memory and haunt you for a very long time.
Dileep Rao "amateur spiritualist" was okay'ish. It appears his part got hijacked by his Guru.
Flor de Maria Chahua "avenger in waiting" has a brief but effective role. And so was her assistant.
All in all "Drag Me To Hell" is both tacky and cheesy, but that doesn't stop it from sending shivers down the spine. The screenplay is void of drag moments ensuring the audience get fright doses at regular intervals. Good utilisation of visual effects and the background score alleviate the visual experience. The potholes in writing could have been easily creased out. Not exactly horror-comedy like "Shawn Of The Dead" but it does have well-interlaced comical moments between the chills.
Watchable fare... and yes a few days you potentially might abstain from using the staplers.