Drag Me to Hell

Waiting for another Sam Raimi horror film has been like hoping your numbers come up on the national lottery, long, arduous and ultimately unfruitful. So it be that when one finally comes around, there is a tendency to over praise, over hype, and even be blind to actually how worthy Drag Me To Hell is. Not only in the pantheon of the horror genre, but in the cannon of its supremely talented director.

So it comes to pass that myself, a Raimi fan for sure, decided to let the hoo-hah die down before venturing in to Hell with Alison Lohman and her devilish nemesis. I note now at the current time of writing that the film is rated just over 7.5/10, that's just about right where it deserves to be. It's not new or remotely ingenious, and for sure it's actually finding Raimi on auto-pilot for himself and his fans. But hey! It's still far better than the ream of remakes and blood for bloods sake cash cows that insult the genre faithful on a monthly basis.

Drag Me To Hell is a comedy horror, there's nothing really scary here, it's gross at times, almost disgustingly {delightfully} so, but Raimi is reliant on fun to go hand in hand with a creeper of a story instead of a conventional boo jump bonanza. And it works just fine. The story sees Alison Lohman's Christine Brown upset an old gypsy woman and gets a curse of demonic proportions laid onto her. This set up then lets Raimi pummel Lohman with a number of excellently scripted set pieces, whilst managing to keep a mystery element ticking throughout the story. Some problems do exist, tho, certainly enough to ensure this isn't the masterpiece the desperate for a Raimi horror hoards have labelled it.

Lohman does real well in relation to duality of character, but both she and her on screen beau, Justin Long, just look too young for the roles they are playing, and yes, it's pretty distracting and an itch you can't scratch. The CGI is also duff and affecting the story, particularly during what should have been a ripper of an ending. And crucially there is a familiarity about the whole thing, a feeling that Raimi and his brother Ivan have just made a collage of genre staples.

Still, Drag Me To Hell makes for a real entertaining night in by the fire. Enjoy a director making a film for himself as much as his fans, a sort of roots revisit if you like. But don't expect a genre defining, or genre boosting, picture, because you may be a tad disappointed with the return. 7/10

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.

Sam Raimi hasn't made a bad movie yet, and while Drag Me To Hell has emerged as a case of you hate it or you love it (like Apocalypse Now, Forrest Gump, and Avatar). It turns out to be a fun ride.

Christine Brown is a loan officer in L.A. and is trying to get the position of assistant manager. She decides that in order to impress her boss, she has to be tougher. So when an old gypsy woman comes and asks her for a third extension on mortgage payment, Christine denies her that. Feeling shamed, the old woman puts a curse on Christine, and sends a demon after her. Her life is suddenly in ruins, but with the help of a fortune teller, and his Latin American friends, Christine attempts to rid herself of the demon, before it takes her down to hell.

the ending of the film is more than somewhat controversial, and in fact you could even spend the rest of the day going over it in your mind, trying to figure out what the Raimi bros were thinking. In fact considering what they choose, the entire story is kind of pointlessly staged, but at least it is fun. Raimi takes us on a crazy ride, we the viewers are treated to a handful of shocking and humorous moments, many of which directly resemble, the Evil Dead flicks. You can tell from this that after fifteen years, Raimi is still a master at horror. He has tackled every genre but it is clear now that he is most at home with this genre. I would not say it's lovable, but it doesn't disappoint either.

Drag me to Hell is, really, a throwback in so many ways to the fun of The Evil Dead 2. The camera angles, the excellent score - it all recalls how Raimi played with us in his earlier trilogy. What has changed however, is the sense of pace. We know its coming and Raimi employs all his skills to draw out the tension. The thrills are all there in place, I jumped like there was an electric buzzer under my seat. Perhaps a little too much CGI is indulged in but its easy to forgive in a film as wicked and blackly comic as this. I genuinely found the film disturbing for a 15 as well, again I think this is a mark of tension that Raimi creates with the score and camera work throughout the film. So incredibly refreshing to see a horror film with out the hallmarks of the recent saw franchise. Special mention for the ending, which has conviction and guts and was the proverbial cherry on top of the cake. throughly entertaining.

Creepy terror caused by a curse against a young woman with a bright future that goes wrong . The bank employee named Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) finds herself growing distresses after she assertively refuses to extend a loan to an old gypsy woman ( Raver ), then she places a hex on her . As when a button is removed during a scuffle , a curse is placed on her . It will result in her being taken to hell in a few days time and the things get worse . Now the girl must call upon his boyfriend named Clay Dalton (Justin Long) and a spiritual adviser (Rao) to help her persuade the gypsy to lift the curse. Time is running out for the desperate loan officer as he draws closer to his own death . At a mansion reunite various mediums who are determined to save her. The psychics attempt to rid her of the strange demon , a malevolent force she is up against , leading until an incredible ending .

This exciting picture is a terror story full of supernatural elements with eerie moments here and there and brief touches of black humor . The makeup and special effects vary , but for the most part, they are quite good , they are realized by Robert Kurtzman and Howard Berger . Colorful and adequate cinematography by Peter Deming who captures perfectly the peculiar scenarios . The film displays adequate musical score fitting to terror and suspense by Christopher Young , an expert composer of dark atmospheres . The motion picture is professionally directed by Sam Raimi ( Crimewave, Evil dead I and II ) who directed ¨Army of darkness¨ another horror film with humor and tongue-in-cheek . This one isn't his worst movie , but definitely not the best either . The result is better than previous Stephen King adaptation called ¨Thinner¨, that bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Drag me to the hell¨. Rating : Acceptable and passable Horror-Comedy from Sam Raimi , well worth watching for Alison Lohman fans .