Director: Sam Raimi (Evil Dead Trilogy, Spiderman Trilogy)
Writers: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Producers: Robert G. Tapert, Sam Raimi, Grant Curtis
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 99 min

Synopsis:
After churning out expensive (and lucrative) Spiderman films for a decade, cult director Sam Raimi goes back to his low-budget horror-comedy roots to deliver what is essentially Evil Dead 4 with a girl in the lead. Buckets of goo, jump scares, Three Stooges antics, psychotic gypsies and seances round out the fun-house atmosphere this old fashioned E.C. Comics type romp.

read all of our reviews below…

Andrew:

(4/5)

I‘ve always said there really aren’t many good PG-13 movies these days. They are too often just trying to push the envelope while simultaneously trying to remain open to a wider audience; which obviously doesn’t work very well… unless you’re Sam Raimi.

Finally giving up the garbage franchise that was Spider-Maguire and even foregoing his good-natured dramas, Raimi has gone back to what he does best: horror-camp.

I don’t have much to say about the movie that isn’t mentioned in the synopsis above, but while there isn’t anything nearing the aforementioned “pushing the envelope,” Raimi does manage to squeeze every groan and “aw no they di’int” from the audience. Even the obviously uninitiated kids in my theater were having the time of their lives visiting what the rest of already know, men with chainsaws and gross outs don’t have to involve torture or buckets of blood to reel in an audience whilst Raimi is at the helm. No sir. A few buckets of maggots or yellow drool does the trick just fine.

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Jandy:

(3.5/5)

I‘m not traditionally a big fan of horror films – it’s only in the last year or two that I’ve started making a concerted attempt to watch some, and I’ve found myself much more drawn to schlocky, over-the-top, campy horror than anything else. Drag Me to Hell was a perfect fit. Alison Lohman is Christine, an up-and-coming loan officer vying for a promotion, if she convinces her boss she’s not too emotionally soft. That leads to denying an old woman a mortgage extension, which leads to the old woman (who happens to be of gypsy descent) putting a curse her, which leads to a goat demon scaring the crap out of her and trying to claim her soul.

Raimi’s clearly after the same general effect as he was in the Evil Dead trilogy, and utilizes many of the same techniques to get there – weirdly canted shots, blurred edges, hazy filters, and demon-pov zoom shots. There’s probably not a lot new here for fans of Raimi-style horror, but he’s quite proficient at it, and his timing is impeccable. He may use a few too many jump scenes, and lead up to them a bit too obviously, but that did allow for at least one nearly perfect jump-pan-reveal that quite pleased me.

I also appreciated that the film didn’t try to be anything but campy fun – maybe there’s a message in there about not trying to get ahead by ruining other people’s lives, maybe there’s one about not turning your back on your past in order to ruthlessly pursue a cold-hearted future (I may or may not be making that one up – interested to see what others think) – but Raimi doesn’t psychologize anyone, he doesn’t get much into causes and effects, and he stops the movie when it’s done and doesn’t bring in an unnecessary denoument.

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Kurt:

(4/5)

Sam Raimi’s hybrid of modern CGI thrills with oldschool goofy horror fun is everything David Mamet says makes an entertaining film. It is both surprising and inevitable. Surprising if you think “Spiderman” when you hear the name Raimi, and inevitable if you think “Evil Dead” While I’m the first to cry “pandering” in a picture as blunt as this one. Here there is no fault, the wide audience this film has been pitched at is the multiplex teen-horror crowd used to Saw sequels and classic remakes. And besides, the technique here effortlessly walks the tightrope of jumpscare and slapstick. It is good to have the old Raimi back. Instead of deadly earnest shocks, we get a spraying fluids, gypsy curses, three stooges antics and a hilarious confrontation inside of a car involving stationary, dentures, vomit and ominous pans of ‘The Classic,’ the 1973 yellow Oldsmobile Delta that shows up in most (if not all) of the directors films. The foley artisits here got a real workout and somehow made the ‘gag jump scares’ to be endearing rather than annoying Credit where credit is due: there is some real elegance in the directorial decisions of how long to take a gag or a scene, and everything here seems pretty perfect. This is a feat in and of itself.

But here is the thing, there is actually a message buried in all the funhouse antics. Personal responsibility, something rarely addressed in modern mainstream American culture (even less in youth culture these days), and the recent banking collapse whether a lucky co-incidence, as the original draft was written in the early 1990s, or added later, distinguishes the picture as a modern morality tale.

Furthermore, I’ll go on record as saying that replacing Ellen Page with Allison Lohman was an excellent choice. She takes the kind of directorial abuse usually reserved for Bruce Campbell like a champ, and has just the right mix of innocence, selfishness and vanity. Kudos for Raimi making a picture that is not mean-spirited, yet has an unlikable character at the center. And an attractive one at that.

Marina:

(4/5)

When Sam Raimi took on the Spiderman franchise, I assumed he was done with the genre that kicked off his career but not one to sit idly by, Raimi surprised when it was announced that he would be directing a new horror comedy. I’m not sure what anyone expected from the film but the trailer suggested horror comedy goodness; a film the likes of which we haven’t seen in years and though I was excited, I was also concerned that the film wouldn’t live up to the trailer. For once, my concerns were unwarranted because Raimi didn’t simply meet expectation, he exceeded it.

A B-goodness film, Drag Me to Hell stars Alison Lohman (in a role which was originally to be filled by Ellen Page. I wonder how she feels about dropping out of the film now?) as a mortgage manager cursed by an old gypsy woman. Demons, ghosts, soul eaters, books with all the answers, switched envelopes; it’s all in here and though none of it is new, it goes to show that a film, no matter how rehashed, can work as long as it’s done well and this is top shelf. Lohman sells the naïve woman capable of doing anything to rid herself of the curse while the talented Lorna Raver allows herself to be ugly-ed up to both creepy and laugh inducing levels.

Admittedly, horror fans may be disappointed by the lack of scares (aside from a few jump scares there’s little here to even cause goose bumps) but those willing to partake in something fun and wholeheartedly made with love, you’re in for a treat the proportions of which we haven’t seen in years. Yes, you know exactly how this thing is going to unfold but there is such joy in seeing the anvil drop (literally. What the hell was it doing there to begin with? The real question: who the hell cares? If you do, this isn’t he movie for you) that I was gleefully smiling from ear to ear.

It’s not going to be a film for everyone (a few folks did say it was too scary for them [how that's possible is beyond me] while others didn’t find it funny enough) but I wish everyone would give it a chance. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen Raimi, the hands down master of the genre, traverse across this ground and I look forward to more. And if it’s anything like Drag Me to Hell, much more.

One question: where’s Bruce?

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Consensus:

Average score:
(4/5)

It’s unanimous! This is not re-inventing the wheel here (things not particularly scary or realistic), but it is executed with gusto, and the movie is a burst of campy fun at a time when the American horror genre has been stuck on remakes and Torture Porn (sometimes combining both in the same flick). Drag Me To Hell is the blast of fresh air that 1408 promised to be a couple years ago but failed. And kudos to Alison Lohman who takes abuse and gives good ‘reaction shot’ on par with ‘The Chin.’ A fun time at the movies. There’s your Evil Dead 4 folks. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Relevant Links:
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