Drag Me to Hell marks Sam Raimi’s legendary return to horror with one of his best films yet. Raimi manages to make you forget about the idea of an Evil Dead IV, because now he has delivered Drag Me to Hell. Raimi has crafted an uproarious horror comedy that contains plenty of laughs and quite a few jumps.
The film centers around a loan officer named named Christine Brown. Christine is in the running for an upper management job and she must prove she is capable of making tough decisions. One day an elderly woman comes in begging for a loan, Christine turns her down and soon fins that the old gypsy has set a curse on her. Now Christine must fight to save her soul from evil spirits that torment her.
While the story is simplistic it becomes elevated by the top notch production and effort. This is not your average horror film. It doesn’t rely on gratuitous violence to provoke scares, instead it provides genuine shock value. It’s filled with oozes and many other substances to cause gross outs, but it also causes many laughs. Another key factor to the story’s success is that all the characters are well rounded and developed. Its easy to become invested in these characters and to also genuinely care about them, despite some of their gray area actions. Most horror tales lack good characters which makes them falter into non-stop violence with no one to connect to. It’s a shame that most horror films aren’t able to accomplish the levels of grandeur here. It’s without a doubt one the best horror tales told in years.
When the old classic Universal logo appears on screen it becomes apparent that Raimi has returned. He returns to his old school roots with providing big scares and laughs. It is reminiscent of his earlier work, but he adds a modern day spin on it. The film is boasted with lavishing visuals and extremely fun cheesy special effects. From the astonishing demon imagery to the well composed shots, Drag Me to Hell carries an iconic look that provides wildly varying moods of tension. The final act displays perfect craftsmanship of scares and laughter. It’s just as much a comedy as it is a horror film and all the laughs are well earned. All the slapstick and physical comedy come off as a horror circus event that can not be missed.
The acting is also the best seen from a horror film in a long time. Alison Lohman (Matchstick Men) delivers an excellent performance as Christine Brown. Despite all her rather shady actions, she remains a likable character and one to connect to. She is pushed to the edge and is able to display her reactions to the extreme. Lohman also earns big laughs with her physical comedic scenes and her soon-to-be classic one liners. Playing her loyal boyfriend is Justin Long (Accepted) who delivers a memorable performance despite not being able to do much. His character is well developed, but he isn’t a great character. This fact is forgotten soon though, because Long plays the role with a certain charm and expectantly funny scenes. The gypsy torturer behind Christine’s curse is played by Lorna Raver who makes for a perfect villain providing lots of scares and is credited with much of the fun gross out humor. All these characters are appealing and are ones to follow mostly due to the splendid acting and the Raimi brother’s terrific script.
Quality horror films are hard to come by and now there is finally one that delivers on all cylinders. Drag Me to Hell is a gruesomely good time at the movies. It accomplishes nearly all of it’s goals while exciting an increasingly desensitized audience. This will be one of the highlight films of the summer and also of this year.
9 out of 10
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