Plot Desperate for a promotion, kind-hearted loans manager Christine (Lohman) refuses an elderly customer, Mrs. Ganush (Raver), only to become the subject of a terrifying gypsy curse that will see her dragged to hell by a vengeful demon called the Lamia...
Review Despite the fact that Sam Raimi’s production company is called Ghost House Pictures, its output, ranging from Boogeyman to The Messengers, has been lame, derivative and lacking in scares. So, at long last, here comes the boss to show everyone how it’s really done.
Raimi, of course, made his name in the horror genre with the Evil Dead trilogy. Since then, his career’s led him away from scares towards web-covered franchises. After the misfiring Spider-Man 3, Drag Me To Hell is a return to a genre he once ruled in an attempt to blow away the cobwebs. In fact, this is easily the purest Raimi movie since Evil Dead II.
Co-written with his brother, Ivan, this is the first Ghost House Pictures movie to live up to the moniker’s macabre funfair origins, lurching from wild laughs to beautifully choreographed scares like a locomotive threatening to leave the tracks. As with a ghost train, the objective is simple. Build tension. Scream. Reveal scary thing. Scream. Relieve tension. Laugh. And start all over again...
It’s a formula Raimi milks right from the off and the scene where Mrs. Ganush (a memorable Lorna Raver) places her gypsy curse on Alison Lohman’s Christine. An extended scrap in Lohman’s car, it starts with a terrific twist on the ‘there’s someone in the back seat’ chestnut, before exploding into a relentless audio-visual onslaught punched through with Raimi’s pitch-black sense of humour, as Ganush loses her rotting dentures, and turns an intended bite into a slobbery, gruesome parody of a kiss.
As the more demented elements of the plot are introduced — props for the possessed hankie, a genuine first for a horror movie — it’s clear that, for Raimi, Drag Me To Hell is a release valve for every deranged impulse he couldn’t indulge with the Spider-movies.
Although there is no ‘message’ here, the film can be seen as a cautionary tale about the perils of greed, like Raimi’s A Simple Plan. Christine’s one slip, her one concession to ambition, is enough to damn her to a horrific ordeal in which Lohman is humiliated and abused in the grand tradition of that other great Raimi lead, Bruce Campbell. In a sense, Raimi has really lucked out with the timing of the film’s release — if ever there was a period when audiences could be expected to enjoy watching a banker suffer, it’s now.
And boy, does Christine suffer. If she’s not being slammed into a ceiling by an invisible demonic force, then she’s hose-spraying a nosebleed around her office or vomiting up flies at the dinner table. There are other characters in the movie — Justin Long, as her earnest boyfriend, and Dileep Lao, as a shaman saviour, are fine — but this is undoubtedly Lohman’s show, turning in an impressive ‘remember me?’ performance that should put her back on the map.
Raimi, though, was never off the map — Spider-Man saw to that. But with this film, he’s rediscovered himself. It’s not perfect — the opening 15 minutes are drab, and the dialogue’s often tin-eared. But just as nobody goes to see a David Mamet film for the stunning visuals, nobody watches a Sam Raimi film for nourishing dialogue. And, in terms of visceral cinema, Drag Me To Hell is his most satisfying movie in ages. That it often feels like a lost cousin of the Evil Dead trilogy is no accident — this is the movie Raimi needed to make before he could move back into the big-budget arena; a low-down, cheap, nasty return to the vibe of the films on which he was granted most creative freedom. Drag Me To Hell? Try How Sam Got His Groove Back...
Verdict Thrilling and often hilarious, it’s good to see one of Hollywood’s most inventive directors fully reinvigorated. On this form, Spider-Man 4 should be a belter.
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Average user rating for Drag Me To Hell
Okay film that is not scary
Raimi's definitely lost the twisted and inventive horror trademark that helped to create 'Evil Dead'. This is an improvement on films like 'Boogeyman', but it's too tongue in cheek and comical to be taken seriously, although the fact that the film does n't take itself too seriously plays to its strenghts along with a great performance by Lohman as the tortured Christine. She plays strong, ambitious and ever optimistic that she can defeat the dark curse bestilled upon her by a 'humiliated' gyps... Read More
Raimi's definitely lost the twisted and inventive horror trademark that helped to create 'Evil Dead'. This is an improvement on films like 'Boogeyman', but it's too tongue in cheek and comical to be taken seriously, although the fact that the film does n't take itself too seriously plays to its strenghts along with a great performance by Lohman as the tortured Christine. She plays strong, ambitious and ever optimistic that she can defeat the dark curse bestilled upon her by a 'humiliated' gyps... Read More
L: lilone
Maybe I'm just completely desensitized by watching the GOOD horror films. sp;
So, what are the good horror films in your opinion? ... Read More
L: alexhurst25
the whole world gone mad ? This film was appalling and people are falling over themselves to praise Sam Raimi's tosh. Why ? The performances were reminiscent of Natalie Portman in Star Wars, the dialogue wince inducingly bad. The set-up in the bank…..pitiful. A five your old could have devised a more realistic set-up regarding a banking promotion. As for actual frights, making very loud and sudden noises isn't particularly chilling - it just makes you jump. Perhaps it was m... Read More
I watched it at home last night, after seeing it in the cinema a while back
I must admit it lost some of its magic, of course because this type of film requires suspense that can only be created on your first viewing?
it was still enjoyable a second time, and is a well made film with some original ideas, even on the second viewing it is very creepy in places - specifically the scenes where you just see the demon's shadow against windows, or shadow arms stretching under the door - much... Read More
I bought it on Blu ray and watched it again last night, sadly it didn't really hold up as well, for me anyway, on the second viewinghh well, it looks like there are some pretty decent extras on there. ... Read More
I'll start by admitting i must be wrong because it seems to have really struck a chord with people but i was dissapointed. Maybe it's because i can only afford to get a new release every two months or so but i'm gutted i paid 14 quid for it. I'm one of Raimi's biggest advocates and i even thought Spiderman 3 was o.k (Not great but o.k) but this just wasn't that entertaining. I love budget horror effects and was really hoping for that kind of look/feel but it all looked so bloody- Computerise... Read More
Drag Me To Hell is chilling, terrifying, shocking, funny in places and is enough to give anyone nightmares. It has great pefomances from the newcomer Alison Lohman that goes through a terrible ordeal that you really feel for her ongoing struggle to surrive this terrible curse. Justin Long was also good but like Empire said, this is Lohman's show and I hope she will be used more because she did a great pefomance. This film did freak me out, I screamed and I know that if I scream in a horror movie... Read More
This brilliant old-school horror film just proves that old-fashioned techniques are still the best. CGI demons would never have the same effect and this is easily the scariest film since the classic that is "The Descent". The recent "District 9" proved a similar point and could you imagine such films as "Gremlins" or "Aliens" re-made with CGI??? - I can't!!! ... Read More
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