Sam Raimi co-wrote and directed what I believe is the best horror movie to have come out in years, not only that, he complete re instated himself as a mastermind in what he does best, splat stick. A term coined from the old Evil Dead era, a combination of slap stick style humor and bloody good horror. Not registering with you? Go rent, Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army Of Darkness, or Dead Alive, and you'll see what I mean.
Drag Me To Hell, opens with a booming and powerful blast literally from hell, and ends the same way, and I left the theatre grinning from ear to ear reviling in what I had just witnessed, the story seems ridiculous at first, a loan officer, Christine Brown, seems to be having an off day, troubles with co workers, a boss who won’t give her the promotion she deserves, and when an old gypsy woman comes in to beg for an extension on her loan, Christine decides to show her boss she has what it takes to do the hard job, and turns the poor little woman away. This is where the film suddenly explodes, and you realize you’re in for a ride. While her boss recognizes her and lets her know what a good job she did, aside from having the security drag the little old gypsy lady out of the bank, she feels confident and proud of herself, she chose her career and her future, yeah she could have helped her out, and extended her loan, let her keep her house, it was her call after all. I think most of us have to face these sort of moral choices throughout life, and that is what makes this whole scenario so familiar, what we don’t tend to remember or think much about is that there is a consequence.
As for the preformances, everyone is spot on, and I have to say that Alison Lohman showcased her range of talent, not only her emotional range but also her physical, the way Raimi tosses her around is brutal and unforgiving, so props to her, and Justin Long co stars as her loving supportive boyfriend, he's great in this except his character is alittle one dimensional, this is all about Alison Lohman, hopefully she'll get the recognition she deserves.
Perception is everything, and what seems small and insignificant can become utterly consuming and terrifying in a flash, and for poor Christine, she was cursed to hell within the next three days. What follows is a masterpiece of pure horror, and humor mixed together to create the creepiest, tingling moments of pure suspense, letting your imagination run wild with speculation. There are also absolutely grotesque stomach wrenching moments, where I imagine Raimi and co, laughing hysterically at themselves, particularly the gumming… Ew.. I mean, what Raimi does with this, is amazing, instead of using the gallons and gallons of fake blood, like in previews Evil Dead movies, he keeps his PG-13 rating by using the most unusual ways to gross you out, I used to believe that no horror movie in this era could pass with a PG – 13 rating, I mean The Ring being an exception, but Drag Me To Hell proves that it can be done. Raimi fans will be glad to see all the nods to the past, and like I did, feel the blood rush inside knowing that he still has it in him. After the last Spiderman movie, I’d all but lost hope. . I can’t remember the last time I watched a movie, where I laughed hysterically one moment, then was curled up clutching my wife’s hand the next moment, in complete fear of what will happen next. New comers will have many wtf moments, but I think it will only connect the old with the new, do yourselves all a favor and see this movie, it’s the best thing I’ve seen all year.
