Drag Me To Hell star’s Alison Lohman (Big Fish) as Christine Brown, a bank worker looking to further her career. After refusing to extend the loan of a gypsy woman, whom she insults, she is cursed. Over the following days she is haunted by an entity revealed to her by a psychic to be a Demon who in three days will Drag her to Hell.
Sam Raimi is up there with my favourite directors, I like or love every film he has directed, except for Spiderman 3, and the problems with it, if rumors are to be believed, was more the studio’s fault than Raimi’s. His Evil Dead films (even Army of Darkness) where films I watched often as a teenager. People have been calling this his big return to horror, I enjoyed his last horror film The Gift quite a bit. Though I think people seen The Gift as more of a supernatural thriller. So going in to see Drag Me To Hell I was pretty hyped up on all the internet rumors that this was his first real return to the kind of horror film he practically invented. So after having watched it the one word that springs to mind is Goofy. This is much more Evil Dead 2 than Evil Dead.
After a short prologue we are introduced to Christine, a loans officer desperate to get an assistant manager promotion.The boss off the bank (David Paymer) makes it clear to her that she needs to take a tougher line with customers if she is to gain the promotion over a sleazy coworker, so when an old Slavic gypsy (Lorna Raver,Excellent!) requests an extension on her loan, Christine denies it even though the woman begs her. The woman believes Christine has shamed her, and as security leads her away, she attempts to attack her, leaving her shaken.
While leaving work that evening Christine is attacked in her car by the old woman. This sequence sets the tone for the rest of the film. Raimi builds up to the attack, racking up the tension to boiling point (Brilliantly using a hankerchief!), and then when the actual attack happens it’s played more for laughs than horror. It involves a pair of false teeth, a ruler in the troat, hair being pulled out and copious amounts of saliva, and by the time its over you’ve went from being scared to having a gleeful smile on your face. The Gypsy then disappears after having put a curse on an item belonging to the hapless victim.
Ram Jhas a psychic whom Christine visits tells her that she has been cursed, and for three days she will be tormented by a Demon and then on the fourth day dragged to hell. That’s the plot in a nutshell, and while most films may suffer from a lack of plot, Drag Me To Hell uses it to its advantage.Instead of having sequence after sequence of horror cliches and mumbo jumbo Raimi just gets on with giving us sequence after sequence of Christine being tormented. Alison Lohman, taking the role originally earmarked for Ellen Page, is unbearably cute, she takes a serious beating in this film, much in the same way Bruce (The Chin) Campbell took anything thrown at him in the Evil Dead Movies. She gets maggots vomited on her face, tossed about like a wet lettuce, a fist in her throat, projectile nosebleeding and in a horror first, chokes on embalming fluid. Believe me when I say its easy to feel sorry for her.
To give any more away would be unfair. Part of the enjoyment of the film is seeing what Raimi will pull out next. He is on top form here, employing all the camera tricks in his bag, facial close ups, focus pulls, and at times the camera appears to be on a bungie cord. Other director’s should take note of how Raimi keeps the lights on during intense scenes, when the lights are on and there’s nowhere to hide IMO it’s scarier. Drag me to Hell may not do anything particuarlly new in the genre, but with Raimi at the helm it fells fresh. Even small moments are given an interesting twist, a scene involving a fly springs to mind, and he gives us the best Sceance I can remember seeing on film. There are faults, some of the comedy doesnt work, Christine’s boyfriend (Justin Long) is a total wet blanket, and the end twist is signposted so easily that anyone in the cinema paying attention will see it coming long before the end, though to the filmaker’s credit the twist isnt a cop out.
I have to give special mention to the sound design which is incredible, if anything Drag Me To Hell is a masterpiece in this respect, the sound builds to almost unbearable hieghts at times and whilst in other horror movies it is used as a gimmick, here it has an actual purpose, we all know that when we are scared the slightest noise seems amplified, and to coin a phrase Raimi turns it up to 11. Christopher Young’s music score compliments the sound to great effect. Production design and Effects are top notch.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
A return to form for one of the masters of the genre, and the most entertaining horror film in a long time. Some horror fans will complain that it’s funny when it should be scary, and they may have a point, though one I wouldnt agree with, as the laugh’s are intentional. Fun, Scary and destined to be a cult favourite.
Four Stars (out of five)
Easter Egg: The car the Gypsy drives is Ash’s car from The Evil Dead Movies. I didnt notice a Bruce Campbell cameo but he could be in there somewhere.
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