Friday
29May2009
Movie Review - 'Drag Me to Hell'
Friday, May 29, 2009 at 12:42AM | Drag Me to Hell
Starring Alison Lohman and Justin Long  |
Drag Me to Hell is the kind of movie that Sam Raimi should make. It's a return to the kind of humorous, shocking schlock that launched his career with the Evil Dead trilogy, and while he's better known for Spider-Man, even the good ones in that series seem anonymous by comparison.
There's just a personality in Raimi's direction that exists in his horror movies that is missing from his blockbusters and from the horror genre in general. So it's good to see that he can still access this filmmaker I thought had given way to way too bigger but not necessarily better films.
Usually with horror movies, the story doesn't matter much. That's because they're generally pretty simple. In this case, however, the story is a huge component, and even though a decent effort could be made out of the basic elements of this story, Raimi continues to build it up, which increases the tension. By the end of it, there's genuine relief, and that's how you know you've had a good time.
Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is a loan officer at Wilshire Pacific Bank. Everyday, she faces the empty assistant manager's desk, hoping that she can impress her boss (David Paymer) and get that promotion. To do that, Christine needs to make tough decisions that make him take notice, so when a decrepit woman (Lorna Raver) behind on her mortgage asks for an extension, Christine says no. The old woman gets on her knees and begs. The answer is still no. And then the old woman lunges at Christine, obviously not taking the news well. But she gets her revenge.
Later that night in the parking lot, Christine encounters the old woman and a very physical struggle ensues at the end of which finds Christine dazed and missing a button off her coat. Her attacker holds the button up to the available light in the parking garage and begins a weird incantation. We know what Christine Brown doesn't: She's not only cursed to being a run-of-the-mill loan officer, she's literally cursed.
Reader Comments (6)
BEST MOVIE THIS SUMMER YET!
Not sure if you can get a better horror flick than this.
5/5 Damn Dirty Apes!
I'm a huge fan of the Evil Dead movies but I had a hard time getting into this for some reason. The script was way pedestrian, I saw the "twist" ending coming a mile away, and I got tired of the jump scares/loud attacks after the second or third time.
That said, I agree with your review in that it's a great midnite movie (and "absurd" is the best description of it I've seen used!). The gags and gross-out gore was pretty awesome and it was fun to see some Deadite action. I'd still give it a 3 out of 5 just 'cause it was a fun experience to see with a crowd but I forgot about most of it the moment I left the theater.
I also saw the twist coming from a mile away but I did enjoy the movie because the direction added a unique atmosphere to the story and the acting. I thought Alison Lohman was absolutely adorable even though she looked like a 14 year old in some scenes. The fight in the parking garage in one of the opening scenes was creative and well done as was the grave scene near the end of the movie. The seance scene was ho-hum yawn and the talking goat was so ridiculous I almost got up and left. I guess I'm one of those people who find psychological thrillers more scary than being grossed out or being made to jump out of your seat. I still thought about the movie long after I saw it though because it did have that special something that the director gave it. My teenagers wouldn't like it. Demon possession is too passe for them and there's not enough gross outs or intricately planned graphic executions in it.
Two things my friend and I hoped had happened: (Spoilers if you haven't seen it)
Wish they would have proceeded to get to the cabin and had it be the cabin from Evil Dead. Instead of ending it at the train station. I felt the way it ended there, with him holding the button seemed like The Ring - whoever holds the button is cursed (even though you pretty much assume it ended with her and not stuck with the button).
Wish they would have had it be like "The only way you can remove this curse is with the Necronomicon" and not give the button as a gift.
So would have been perfect winks at his Evil Dead series.
Also, where was Bruce Campbell, dude shows up in virtually every Sam Raime movie damnit! :)
I'm glad to see it doing well. I particularly liked the dark cinematography. I found a good discussion of the movie at pandalous. It's here: http://www.pandalous.com/nodes/drag_me_to_hell
Sam has made a good movie. It is very scary. The characters are all very nice specially Christine. For more wallpapers, trailers refer Drag Me To Hell Movie