With the “torture porn” trend having taken onscreen brutality and unpleasantness about as far as it can go short of actual snuff, the time is right for a horror movie that’s more funhouse than charnel house. And who better to make that film than Sam Raimi, the director who cut his teeth on the Evil Dead series before moving on to mainstream success with A Simple Plan and Spider-Man? Effortlessly blending scares, laughs, and thrills, Drag Me To Hell , which opens areawide on Friday, should satisfy both the hardcore fans waiting for Evil Dead 4 and general audiences looking for a summer rollercoaster ride.
Christine Brown (Allison Lohman) is a farm girl in the big city trying to cover up her country roots so she can impress the upper class parents of her boyfriend Clay (Justin Long). She also wants to get ahead at her job as a loan officer. To prove to her boss (David Paymer) that she can be just as heartless as her chief rival for an assistant manager position, Christine denies a loan extension to Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver), a poor old gypsy woman about to be foreclosed on. Bad move. The gypsy places a curse on Christine, summoning a demonic creature called the Lamia that torments its victims for three days before carting their souls off to hell.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2009.
Great review. It’s nice to see a return to old-school horror, by one of the real masters. The fact that a PG-13 movie could pack such a wallop gives me hope for more good horror films in the future.
Thanks for the review. Sounds good enough to check out.
I just saw this film & agree with the review, Did anyone notice the car Mrs. Ganush was driving? seem familiar?
I’m sure I’ve seen it in at least 5 of Raimi’s films,
Allot of his old gross out gags are renewed & used with a polished edge. & I’m sure will appear to be fresh for new viewers,
DAB