Movie Review - 'Drag Me to Hell'

Drag Me to Hell Starring Alison Lohman and Justin Long Directed by Sam Raimi Rated PG-13

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.

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Two New 'Drag Me To Hell' Commercials

Here's the deal about Drag Me to Hell being rated PG-13: I get that Universal wants to draw the biggest crowd possible and that R-rated movies tend to cut a swath through your total box office from time to time. But this is a horror movie, and if the stuff that happens to Alison Lohman in this movie happened to me, I'm sure I'd utter more than one F-bomb, which would make me rated R.

So we'll probably get one offending word, but we can't get any more, and that's a bigger thing to me than blood or gore. Some things just weren't meant to get PG-13 ratings; it's no different than if Pixar made Wall-E swear like a sailor or showed Mr. and Mrs. Incredible practicing to make baby Jack Jack. Some things just don't fit. I mean, this is being billed as the return of "true horror," right? A couple of new commercials have debuted for Drag Me to Hell, and ratings notwithstanding, I'm still interested to see what Sam Raimi will do in his horror movie comeback, and I think Alison Lohman has been unjustly ignored for years.

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'Drag Me to Hell' Poster Out to Get Alison Lohman

Sam Raimi returns to horror this summer with Drag Me to Hell, and at the very least, we can hope it's a kind of artistic enema, cleaning his system of the malodorous, impacted waste that was Spider-Man 3. Being more optimistic, it could be a master in his element, and since one of the better horror flicks last year was released at the same time (The Strangers), there might be some reason for optimism.

At one point, the project looked shaky because Ellen Page dropped out, but I doubt anyone will miss Juno here. Alison Lohman replaced her in the cast, and though I don't want her to become a scream queen, I think she's pretty effective in the trailers. Justin Long...I'm unsure. There's a new poster for Drag Me to Hell, which Shock Till You Drop premiered on Monday, and the first thing I noticed is how much Lohman's positioning here reminds me of the famous Herb Ritts photo of Madonna that became the cover of her True Blue album. Almost without question, that's a coincidence, and I may be one of the few people to even make the connection, because it's not really a connection at all.

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Trailer for Sam Raimi's 'Drag Me to Hell'

Sam Raimi heads back to his horror movie roots this summer with Drag Me to Hell. The new film was at one point supposed to star Ellen Page, but now it's Alison Lohman, and I've thought since the rather ho-hum White Oleander that Lohman had a lot of talent. And the good news here is, she's an effective scream queen.

I'd set up the movie a little more here, but the trailer - for good or bad - takes care of all of that for you. The one thing that creeps into my mind having seen it is whether what occupies the first minute of the trailer will only get us a few minutes into the movie. If so, that could mean almost 90 minutes of fright, and I'd be down with that. Check it out. It looks like Raimi's still go the lo-fi touch.

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Sam Raimi's 'Drag Me To Hell' Gets a Summer 2009 Release Date

Spurred on by the rather remarkable success of The Strangers, Ghost House Pictures and Universal will now release Sam Raimi's hopefully triumphant return to horror on the same weekend next year. Shock Till You Drop reports that the devilishly titled Drag Me To Hell will open on May 29, 2009, meaning it will compete against the Pixar flick, Up, indicating a few things right off the bat. For starters, it tells us that the studio believes in Sam Raimi as a brand just as much as Disney and Pixar believe in themselves. Even though this won't make half of the money Up will, it's an indication that there are enough Sam Raimi fans out there who want him to return to horror, a genre he knows so well after the Evil Dead trilogy. It also makes a statement about how well smart horror can do in the middle of summer. The Strangers, despite whispers about its release date being pushed back several times and despite not having much of a marketing budget, made $20 million on its opening weekend, opposite Sex and the City. It has gone on to make over $50 million so far, a cozy $40 million profit before video and international receipts are counted. Clearly, that's what they're hoping for with Drag Me To Hell, which will be able to do a lot more business on its own, will probably command a healthier marketing budget, and should be excellent counterprogramming to Up. That's the third bell this news rings for me: Look at what Wanted did against Wall-E. Don't you think Universal would be over the moon to put over even $30 million opening against a Pixar movie? I hope it's as good as it should be. I know a lot of people were bummed when Ellen Page left the project, but snagging Alison Lohman is not a significant dropoff in my opinion. Hell, she was good in White Oleander; what does that tell you? It tells me that she can easily handle being cursed by a mysterious old woman in Drag Me to Hell.