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DRAG ME TO HELL
You have to feel sorry for the simple goofs that brought into the super hype surrounding the advertising remit of Drag Me To Hell. With 'scariest film of the decade' and 'from the director of Spiderman' drilled into their tiny little brains, it's no wonder they were somewhat disappointed with the actual content of the film. However, for the more savvy audiences out their, those who could read between the lines and link the two advertising spiels appropriately, this could only mean one thing - Sam Raimi has returned to his roots. So, expectations were set to maximum that a darkly comic and slightly twisted caper featuring a hero who constantly has the crap kicked out of them, laughing furniture, flying eyeballs and hose-pipe blasts of blood would all be present and correct.
Good news. They are! Even the plot follows the now-typical simplistic and tight Raimi structure. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a nice, affable banker with a bright future is cursed by a wicked old gypsy woman to be dragged to hell for not extending the loan repayment time on her mortgage. The demon evoked by the curse, Lamia, subsequently hounds and harasses Christine, but with the aid of some do-it-yourself animal sacrifices and a bizarre séance involving a talking goat, she looks to dispel the curse before the demon comes to collect his victim on the third day.
Normally, this simple setup would be an excuse for Raimi to run riot with the
camera and move from one viscerally entertaining set-piece to the next, relying on what he throws at Lohman to keep audiences enthralled. With age, however, Raimi has become slightly more subtle in his approach to delivering such frantic and cartoonish imagery. The treats are delivered at a much slower pace than his earlier work and the more refined camera movement deployed ensures his plethora of weird and dizzying angles is better used to unsettle viewers before the frights begin. If anything, Drag Me To Hell is certainly a film that will have your nerves jangling in the lead up to these core moments, although its never outright terrifying.
Of course, when these moments do happen it's with a stream of refreshing imagery and kinetic visuals that explode on screen. Unsurprisingly, with Raimi being an old hand at this, it works incredibly well delivering chuckles, gasps and shocks in equal measure. Christine's encounter with Mrs Ganush (the gypsy women) in the back of her car features a moment of pure spine-tingling terror before it descends into a rampant brawl involving false teeth and a staple gun that would have made the Three Stooges proud. Likewise, the immediate shock of Christine's nose exploding in a gush of blood in the middle of a busy office is off set by the extreme and ridiculous hilarity with which the gore continues to spray over other people in traditional hose-pipe fashion.
What makes this equally more delicious is the new punching bag Raimi torments with such physical and mental episodes. Alison Lohman, whilst seemingly the antithesis of Bruce Campbell's brash loud-mouthed idiot from the Evil Dead series, is very much one and the same. Despite her waif-like, diminutive appearance, she takes everything Raimi throws at her with gusto, making for a superb lead. Whether she's being spun around a room, hung upside down and thrown into furniture by an unseen force; attacked by and choking on her own handkerchief; or having various multitudes of gloop, viscous liquids, gore, bugs and, in one outstanding sequence, eyeballs, thrown all over her; Lohman is outstanding. Indeed, despite the lack of self-mutilation with a chainsaw, she almost reaches iconic status with one form of animal sacrifice she has to endure! Without Lohman's complete humiliation at the hands of the director, Drag Me To Hell would certainly be less fun and entertaining. Likewise, Lorna Raver who plays the truly despicable Mrs Ganush with such disgusting aplomb is also rather marvellous throughout as Christine's nemesis. She seems to be having a great time tormenting an otherwise timid little victim, similar to Evil Dead 2's witch in the fruit cellar.
Don't be confused into thinking that Drag Me To Hell is Evil Dead 2 though. Whilst it does everything you expect of a Raimi film, it's certainly not perfect. For one, the pacing is often a little awkward. Between the hair-raising set-pieces and schlock shocks, the plot runs a little too slowly. Quiet moments of character introspection and side-plots regarding the outcome of the banks assistant manager's position tend to get in the way of an otherwise rollercoaster ride. All you really want to see is what Raimi is going to throw at Lohman next. Additionally, the ending can be seen a mile off with a plot convention straight out of the script-writers handbook. This will likely disappoint some, although this simple dynamic is entirely in keeping with the movies eighties horror ethos. It's certainly way better than the jarring plot contrivances of the likes of Saw, for instance, which render that whole flick utterly pointless.
Still, Drag Me To Hell is a damn sight better than what typifies most modern horrors. There's that similar sense evoked by Evil Dead 2 that runs throughout Drag Me To Hell's running time. Raimi is pissed off with what others have recently produced in the genre and has seemingly taken time off from the Spiderman franchise to put right those wrongs. Indeed, compared to the tedious torture porn offerings, devoid of tension and scares, and the foreign remakes that fail to replicate the originals atmosphere, Drag Me To Hell is a quality horror flick. That it systematically balances horror and comedy so delicately, and succeeds, is testament to Raimi's knowing craft. That he has usurped the modern horror with what is essentially an eighties B-movie horror flick - it's amazing what you can do with a cheap budget, effects that don't rely on CGI and a little imagination - is tantamount to genius.
Overall - Loud, brash, raucous, shocking, jumpy, tense, creepy, hilarious, fun, entertaining. Yes, Drag Me To Hell is all of these things. If you're a fan of Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness and Darkman, you'll love it. If not, the film's quality may simply by-pass you like a gnat's fart in the wind...
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenplay: Sam & Ivan Raimi
Cast:
Alison Lohman ... Christine Brown Justin Long ... Clay Dalton Lorna Raver ... Mrs. Ganush Dileep Rao ... Rham Jas David Paymer ... Mr. Jacks Adriana Barraza ... Shaun San Dena Chelcie Ross ... Leonard Dalton Reggie Lee ... Stu Rubin Molly Cheek ... Trudy Dalton Bojana Novakovic ... Ilenka Ganush Kevin Foster ... Milos
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
Good review. I'm still trying to understand this movie. Are you saying it's good because it's bad?
CrazyJamie 02.09.2009 10:01
The thing that puzzled me about this was that it was actually advertised as a full blown horror, as opposed to the Evil Dead re imagining that it actually was.
emmyjepson 24.07.2009 15:31
I was going to watch this, but never got round to doing! Considering I'm a wimp when it comes to horror movies, maybe it's best I don't... Excellent review.
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)
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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)
·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Drag Me To Hell (DVD)
Jul 7th, 2009
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