Review of “Drag Me To Hell”
Sam Raimi, director of Drag Me To Hell, is no stranger to the horror genre, having directed the classic horror of the Evil Dead trilogy, pretty much perfecting the mesh of horror and comedy by the time he got to Army of Darkness (Evil Dead 3). In the 32 years of his career, he has been something of a workhorse, producing camp television such as Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess, writing comedy gems like the Coen Brother’s Hudsucker Proxy, and directing mainstream cash cows like the Spiderman films.
Raimi returns to his roots with Drag Me To Hell, a rollicking white-knuckle ride through the classics elements that make a horror film, done well, such an enjoyable experience. Christine (Alison Lowman) has a sweet geeky boyfriend (Justin Long) and a good job at a local bank. When her boss hints to her that a promotion might come when she toughens up and starts making hard decisions, Christine does something out of character and knocks back a loan extension for an elderly woman. Big mistake Christine! The woman is a gypsy, and when her house is repossessed, she attacks Christine and places her under a curse, inviting the daemon Lamia to take possession of her soul.
There is nothing original in the story composed by Sam Raimi with his brother Ivan, but it is executed with such panache that you will be rooted to your chair waiting for the next scare, or the next belly-laugh, which come in pretty equal measure. This isn’t horror porn, gruesome for the sake of it - the scares comes as much from what happens on screen as what we imagine is happening off it – and it stands far above the underwhelming horror remakes that have been choking the screen this past year. Alison Lowman throws herself bodily into the role of Christine, who starts off as the cliché weak victim and her journey to save her soul is a great showcase for the young actress. Poor Justin Long doesn’t have much to do but play the straight man to Lowman’s unravelling, but veteran actress Lorna Raver (quite literally) sinks her teeth into the role of the mad gypsy.
Every time you stare incredulously at the outrageous fees on your bank statement, you’ve probably imagined what you could do to your bank manager. Live vicariously – go see Drag Me To Hell.
CK
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