thanks so much for all the comments and positive feedback, I really enjoy reading them. Will always ...
thanks so much for all the comments and positive feedback, I really enjoy reading them. Will always endeavour to return a rate, please let me know if I miss anyone out!
Member since:09.08.2008
Reviews:20
Members who trust:10
Drag Me To Hell Dir: Sam Raimi Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver 99 MIns
My girlfriend is a fiend for the horror films of Sam Raimi. I reckon they’re pretty good too. The Evil Dead trilogy is a knockabout series of films that look cheap and overly gory, but still have a fair share of hiding round the sofa moments. It is the servings of comedy that make his movies stand out. During moments of buttock clenching terror Raimi is a master the lowering the tension through a lighter moment (those who have seen Bruce Campbell chasing his own amputated hand round a remote wooden shack with a shotgun might agree to this point). I expected ‘Drag Me to Hell’ to be pitched at about that level: creative, low-tec shocks, lots of gore and a little panto comedy. Here Raimi has a bigger budget, the scares look a lot more convincing but are just as heart jarring.
The Story:
The film stars Alison Lohman as Christine, a loan officer at a local bank. She and a rival are trying to prove themselves for the post of Assistant Manager, but Christine has a dilemma. Does she give a destitute, ill lady Mrs Ganush
(Lorna Raver) an extension on her loan, or does she refuse it to prove her worth to the boss? Justifiably, but, with hindsight, not the greatest choice; she turns down the extension and havoc ensues. Ganush is chucked out of the bank by security and waits in the car park that evening for Christine to get some revenge. What follows is a the first (of many) text book scare scenes, Raver is so wonderfully over the top as the spitting, scowling, diseased Ganush who can take a lot of punishment for one so terminally unwell. However Lohman’s plucky character proves to me more than capable of fighting her off and a stalemate of sorts ensues. Still, Ganush is not to be beaten, she rips a button from Christine’s jacket and places a curse on it whispering the enigmatic words ‘It is YOU who will soon come begging to ME’ [sic] before melting into the darkness.
And here is where the fun really starts.. the curse starts taking shape around Christine who does her best to find a solution with the help of her boyfriend Clay (the wonderfully wholesome looking Justin Long) and Indian spiritualist Rham Jas (Dileep Rao). No spoilers here, but Christine is battered and physically and mentally by the forces that Ganush unleashes on her. It transpires that a demon has been summoned. Christine will have 3 days before it has a solid enough form to suck her down to Hell… Queue much tension: jump out of your seat dream scenes, roaring demon silhouettes who slap young Christine about, a psychotic old lady handkerchief which takes a real dislike to her too.. Raimi really builds the tension for a theatrical, Burtonesque finale where Christine and Rham Jas attempt to dissuade the spirit from its action. Of course there is a twist at the end, which isn’t wholly unexpected, but this is also pitched to a satisfying level to fans of the genre.
My Verdict: I enjoyed Drag Me to Hell very much. Correction: I got scared senseless by this movie. After 100 minutes of shocks, you cannot help but feeling wrung out after watching this movie. I’m not entirely sure how effective the transfer to the small screen would be, but Raimi’s latest offering lends itself wonderfully to the cinema. His constant recourse to short bursts of demonic hell on the ears are predictable, but when the audio setup rattles your skull, also dreadfully effective. It is plot-wise where the real horror purists will pick this film to pieces though. Drag Me To Hell, takes elements of the Evil Dead and adds a little Joss Wheedon dryness into the mix. Case in point: what do you do when someone in your proximity starts coughing up jets of streaming blood? Start gibbering uncontrollably and go into shock or dryly remark to a nearby bystander ‘did I get any in my mouth’ (??!!) The story is littered with plot weak points that a serious fan might not be able to stomach. Lorna Raver plays the darkest, most clichéd and infirm mysterious gypsy type you will ever see. She has an unidentified bronchial condition which makes her wheeze and cough uncontrollably yet is a resilient street brawler of the highest order. Could you take a fight scene seriously where a feeble looking old lady has her eyelid stapled together, endures a high-speed collision (without a seatbelt) and can walk off to fight another day? I certainly couldn’t!
The love story subplot seems equally unrealistic. Christine and Clay are two equally winsome characters who are more reminiscent to an episode of Smallville. After a psychological battering on a par to the residents of the house in Poltergeist, Christine still look fresh, unfrayed and coherent enough to have a dinner with the in-laws.
Still, I managed to suspend my belief and was entertained royally by ‘Drag Me to Hell’. If an indicator of a film’s quality is the impact it has on you after leaving the theatre – this film would be rated pretty highly..
Let’s put it like this.. I plan not to be snubbing any gypsy women in the near future, I can tell you!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
Nicely written review, but this one would definitely give me nightmares!
clownfoot 07.07.2009 22:29
Why do I have to leave a comment? Can't I just rate the review exceptional because I thought it was? Bloody system. Hurrumph!
Well, Raimi and Campbell name checked - that's good enough for me...
brokenangelkisses 04.07.2009 00:15
This sounds so exciting, but I think I'd have to watch it with a friend!
Advantages: Apparently if you like Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films then this film will be for you Disadvantages: Bad acting, Bad story, It's supposed to be a horror, but it made us laugh. Waste of mone
DixieChick10 04.06.2009 (04.06.2009)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Drag Me To Hell (DVD)
Advantages: Apparently if you like Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films then this film will be for you Disadvantages: Bad acting, Bad story, It's supposed to be a horror, but it made us laugh. Waste of mone
DixieChick10 04.06.2009 (04.06.2009)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Drag Me To Hell (DVD)
Jun 12th, 2009
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (98%):
