Drag Me to Hell review

Movies, Television News, Sexy Celebrities and High Quality Photos just for you!

You are here: Home » 2009 Reviews » Drag Me to Hell review

Help promote NFD and share this post! Twitter to your friends!

Drag Me to Hell review

15 June 2009No CommentPosted by Phil

Beware of minor spoilers.

Horror films; No, I'm not a fan, I've never been a fan of today's horror films or even many of those from the past. Most horror movies today are nothing but torture porn which is a term now used to describe horror films that are based off of mutilation, ultra-gore and violence usually associated with Hollywood studio films. Although those kinds of film prove to be financially successful, they're not my thing and I doubt they ever will be. Even so, I've seen several horror films through the years that I do very much appreciate, like A Nightmare on Elm Street and of course the legendary Evil Dead trilogy. I remember seeing Army of Darkness on the SciFi Channel hundreds of times and I'd watch every time - I loved it.

The Evil Dead trilogy, now very classic in the genre, has gone on to be something of a cult hit and its lead actor Bruce Campbell, a legend. Its director, Sam Raimi, has since then moved on to bigger things in his career like producing the popular 90s TV shows Hercules and Xena, later directing the massively successful Spider Man franchise. Although moving on to become one of Hollywood's biggest directors, fans from his Evil Dead days always held out hope on a return to the genre, mainly praying for another sequel to that franchise but one hasn't and may never come, however, a return to the classic horror genre doesn't mean he has to do fourth Evil Dead film. In this very case, he returns with something brand new while keeping the same fun qualities of his past genre films in his new film Drag Me to Hell.

I'll admit since the time Drag Me to Hell and actress Ellen Page was attached to star, I didn't pay that much attention to it because, honestly, I didn't really care although I hoped he'd direct a good movie. Throughout production, as things go in Hollywood, Ellen Page pulled out and a new actress was hired - shooting began, photos where released and a trailer was shown. The trailer, when I first saw it, definitely had the Raimi qualities that got fans excited for his new project but with its PG-13 rating, skepticism followed, especially from myself. How could a horror film not have an R rating? It doesn't make sense, at least to me but than again, Raimi's horror movies aren't based on "torture porn" - they're more tongue and cheek with a little comedy, gore, and the occasional scare. The biggest worry is the difference in today's cinema to 80s classic cinema - Would Raimi be able to tap into that 80s charm, bring back a heart felt horror like he gave us in the Evil Dead trilogy? Would Raimi fall prey to today's cliches and sell out? Thankfully, now after seeing Drag Me to Hell, Raimi reminds us why 80s horror and 80s filmmaking in general kicks ass as he brings us something special in his new film even with its PG-13 disadvantage.

"Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home. In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse?" [Bloody-Disgusting]

There is one thing that you can't deny - Sam Raimi knows how to make a movie a whole lot of fun. When most people go to see horror films, they expect to be scared out of their boots, or to feel uncomfortable and sick - that is, by the way, why I don't really enjoy most horrors. That's, however, a conversation for another time; maybe a future editorial. The reason why I love the Evil Dead trilogy is because they were not the typical horror - they're extremely fun films, with laughs and gore to make you think "WTF! That's awesome and hysterical". Who ever thought a laughing stuffed deer head in Evil Dead II would be so effective! That's what Drag Me to Hell accomplishes. Raimi directs charm into the elements of this movie that would normally be turned into something unappealing, at least for me, in most of today's horrors. There are several scenes in the movie which can only be described as awesomely incredible, for example (without giving to much away); the first encounter with the evil old lady in the parking lot - it's so fantastically familiar that if you replace Alison Lohman with Bruce Campbell, genre fans would explode in glee. It's so much fun to watch, especially when your familiar with Raimi style horror because you know what to expect. Later in the film, there is a scene that involves a fly going up Lohman's nose. It's disgusting and what happens after is even more disgusting but you can't help but laugh your ass off, not because it's cheesy (which it is not) because it's just so Raimi - that is what makes it so great. There are several other scenes in this film that will have you smiling but I won't give them away - in short; you should see it for yourself. I'll mention one more thing; talking goat - legendary and best part of the film.

There is no doubt that Drag Me to Hell is worth seeing just for the epic Raimi gore and horror action but there are a few draw backs, and I'd hate to say it, but when there wasn't anything going on - it was kind of boring. In between all of the action, for lack of a better term, there is a lot of story telling going on between characters which is meant to develop the characters and although it is alright story-telling it does, at times, drag the film down - no pun intended. Even still, it doesn't mean Drag Me to Hell isn't worth watching because it totally is. What this film does lack, however, is a final showdown. The end of the film has a climax, which involves the talking goat, that should have probably ended the film yet it continues on with more that brings Christine (Lohman) to an interesting end, although you can see it from a mile away. Anybody who's anybody who watches movies, could see the ending coming. All of it, still works but for someone like myself who's loved the Ash vs. the Deadites ending type stuff, I was expecting the same from Drag Me to Hell but unfortunately, there isn't one.

Drag Me to Hell has good performances from the entire cast even though Ellen Page would have been better than Alison Lohman. I can't, knock Lohman because she's still very good. Sadly, there was no Ash cameo which would have been amazing. Still, Drag Me to Hell is a fun movie that I suggest to not only Raimi fans but everyone who likes having fun with horror films. It works even for those like me who don't really care for horror movies because it's more tongue and cheek than scare you to bits-slice off head horror. Sam Raimi proves that even after a disaster like Spider Man 3, he still is an incredible director (not that I doubted it) and I hope he continues to not only make Spider Man movies but continues to look back towards his roots once in a while and gives us a film like Drag Me to Hell. On a scale of 1 to 10, Drag Me to Hell scores a 7 out of 10. It probably would have scored better if it was rated R.