Drag Me To Hell

By Jeff Otto

Synopsis: Christine Brown (Lohman) is a bank loan officer up for a big promotion from her strict boss (Paymer). To prove she can make the tough decisions, she denies a loan extension to an old lady (Raver) and the woman places a curse on the girl that will have her haunted by a powerful demon intent on dragging Christine Brown into the depths of hell.

Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, David Paymer, Dileep Rao, Adrianna Barraza

Written by: Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Opening on: May 29th, wide

EXPECTATIONS

What I'd Seen - Fun, over-the-top trailers and a day spent on set put my hopes high, although I was thinking this might be more along the lines of Raimi's The Gift rather than the beloved Evil Dead series.

What I'd Heard - This is Sam Raimi's long-awaited return to horror after years away directing blockbuster material. Although, with a PG-13 rating, I wondered whether the talented director would be restrained from delivering the kinds of no-holds-barred material fans loved so much in the Evil Dead trilogy.

What I Wanted - Something to wash the bitter taste of Spider-Man 3 from my mouth once and for all.

EXPERIENCE

What Turned Me On -

When Sam Raimi first told us about his Ghost House production banner, it sounded like a great idea. Fun house horror movies along the lines of classic material by the likes of William Castle and Mario Bava. Unfortunately, what followed were a series of lifeless throwaway horror material like The Grudge and Boogeyman series. 30 Days of Night was good, but still didn't feel true to the spirit of Ghost House's kitschy horror promises.

Drag Me to Hell should serve as the blueprint for what a Ghost House Picture is supposed to be. Near-perfect in execution, Drag Me is a thrilling, gross-out, goosebump-inducing ride through the fun house from start to finish. It is an absolute blast and, believe me, they didn't give away all the best bits in the trailer. Not by a long shot.

What Turned Me Off -

In all honesty, I have almost no complaints about Drag Me to Hell. It's exactly what I wanted. If I had to criticize anything, it would be that this serves as yet another example of the MPAA's consistent inconsistency in their ratings tactics. Personally, I probably wouldn't let my 13-year-old see this and I consider myself pretty lenient.

AFTERMATH

I Left Thinking - That was so much fun that I can't wait to see it again, and I never see anything more than once these days. Raimi may have been away from the horror genre for a long time, but he got back on that horse without so much as a hiccup anywhere in site. He can still turn stomachs and make audiences jump with the best of them.

I Left Saying - Does Raimi really have to go back and do another frickin' Spider-Man movie after this? Does anyone really want that? Sure, the first two movies were good, but been there, done that. Lots of people are doing comic movies. What the fans really want is more films like Drag Me to Hell. The horror genre needs you, Mr. Raimi. Don't make us wait to long before you come back again and show everyone else how it's done.

Expiry Date - Drag Me to Hell should hold up quite well to multiple viewings and a long shelf life on home video. Now let's just hope mainstream America comes out and supports one of summer's few examples of original material.