Oh 'Hell' yeah!
Drag Me to Hell
Running time: 99 minutes
MPAA rating:PG-13 (profanity, extreme horror violence, disturbing images, terror)
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Sam Raimi could probably spend the remainder of his filmmaking career cranking out "Spider-Man" fantasy adventures.
He's made three of them so far. And even though they've all been solid spider-bite-boy entertainment vehicles and huge hits, everyone who appreciates a deliciously scary horror film should take time out to send Raimi a thank-you note for "Drag Me to Hell."
Anyone who knows anything about Raimi knows that he cut his filmmaking teeth in the horror genre. He established not only top-notch horror with the "Evil Dead" films, but a sense of dark gallows humor as well.
Raimi returns with a gleeful vengeance to the grisly genre he obviously missed. With a trio of "Spider-Man" thrillers under his belt, Raimi has mastered all the filmmaking tools necessary to scare the hell into us.
Co-written by Raimi's brother Ivan, who has collaborated with his sibling on "Spider-Man 3" and the comic sword and sorcery fantasy "Army of Darkness," "Drag Me to Hell" is the most effective spine-tingling shock horror ride I've been on in a long, long time.
The Raimi brothers use an old Alfred Hitchcock trick to put a seemingly innocent -- but somewhat tarnished -- damsel in grave distress. Janet Leigh stole the boss's money and ended up in Hitchcock's bloody shower in the 1960 horror classic "Psycho."
In "Drag Me to Hell," L.A. bank loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) denies an old lady (Lorna Raver) a home-loan extension in order to impress her boss and get a promotion. Christine has bloody hell to pay for her selfish action.
It's best not to give away too much of the "Drag Me to Hell" plot. Just know that the old lady slaps the demonic Lamia curse on Christine for shaming her in public. If Christine doesn't do something to break the spell within three days -- like find an animal to sacrifice, for one thing -- a very grumpy demon is likely to show up to drag her straight down to you-know-where.
Lohman, who impressed me as Michelle Pfeiffer's deeply troubled daughter Astrid in "White Oleander" (2002), is not your normal horror flick scream queen. She can really act, for one thing. It also helps tremendously that the Raimi brothers give her real character depth. That makes her flawed character appear real.
Justin Long ("He's Just Not That Into You"), the Mac Guy in those "Mac. vs. PC" TV commercials, doesn't have much to do as Christine's college professor boyfriend.
But veteran actress Raver, making her first feature film co-starring turn, will scare the living daylights out of you as Mrs. Ganush, a lady you don't want to dis in public.
Raimi conducts this original horror ditty as he might the New York Philharmonic. He uses music as a key character. Some of the demonic figures may look a little cheesy (on purpose), but with Raimi's musical accents blasting from the speakers, it's a symphony of suspense, things that go bump in the day and night and some surprises I'm frankly still a little rattled from.
I'd say "Drag Me to Hell" is a great popcorn flick if I wasn't afraid some unnerved audience members might toss their cookies into the popcorn bag.
Let's just call it a fabulously orchestrated fright night at the movies and leave it at that.
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