Drag Me To Hell

OPENING: 05/29/2009

STUDIO: Universal

RUN TIME: 99 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she’s going to hell.

Opening Statement
It’s hard not to mention The Evil Dead when talking about Sam Raimi’s newest horror show, Drag Me to Hell, but you know what? I’m going to try it. I’ll start of by saying that Drag Me to Hell is unlikely to have the same epic cult appeal that made the aforementioned video nasty such a genre delight, but on its own merits Raimi’s latest is solidly entertaining with an ending not lacking in wit or bite. You’ve seen the man on better form, but honestly, Raimi’s legions of fans can sleep easy because Drag Me to Hell is a good return to the trademark tongue and cheek horror that made the man’s name.

Facts of the Case
Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is a hardworking gal looking for a promotion, so as to prove once and for all that she is good enough for Professor boyfriend Clay (Justin Long) and more than the sum of her farming roots. Such a work based opportunity arrives in the position of Assistant Manager, left vacant, with Christine a prime candidate in the Bank owners eyes to fill the slot. However competition is stiff and in order to prove herself the Bank Manger requests that Christine improves her ability to make “tough calls”. Such a chance arrives when a one eyed Crone Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives looking for a third lone on her property, set to be repossessed later in the week. In a bid to be seen taking a firm stance Christine refuses, but an enraged Mrs. Ganush refuses to leave without dishing out some vengeance of her own, and places a curse on the career minded heroine. Soon Christine is seeing visions and being physically tormented by evil spirits and poltergeist style menace, but after a consultation with those viced in the supernatural, it seems the particular hex placed on Christine is just not ghosts and ghouls, in three days time it sends you directly to the fires of hell.

The Evidence
I said earlier that I wasn’t going to mention Evil Dead and I still intend to uphold that promise, it’s after all unfair to hold up a horror picture as acceptably crafted as Drag Me to Hell against something so beloved, purely because they’re spawned of the same artist. The first thing likely to deter the die-hard devotees concerning the flick is the PG-13 rating it showboats, usually a mark of creative death and greasy fingered cash grabbing from the filmmakers and studio. Indeed, upon entering Drag Me to Hell it wasn’t Spider-Man 3 that planted seeds of doubt in my mind, but the fact that Raimi was seemingly catering to the acne covered clientele that bad Asian remakes are generally preheated for. So back slaps to all concerned, because despite the family friendly certificate Drag Me to Hell is an at times intensely spooky and joyously dark piece of popcorn cinema, seriously, give Night at the Museum 2 another run because despite what the MPAA says, this ain’t for the kiddies.

The film is pretty much fully centered around Lohman as the female hero, and I have to say that the young actress does a really good job in the part. Lohman has shown promise in several previous projects but always in fairly minor parts, here promoted to leading lady she fares more than competently. Christine isn’t a typical damsel in distress, she’s ballsy and determined but when the going gets tough the audience is rooting for her and not the demon hungering for her soul. Raimi cooks up a good character and compliments her effectively with a serious of supporting acts that are used to further flesh out her persona or push the story forward. This is one of the greatest strengths the picture possesses; it’s a mean and lean efforts with no unnecessary run time expounded on characters that just slow the picture up. Justin Long’s boyfriend is the perfect example, Long actually provides a rather quaint and believable performance, but never takes up the screen when his participation doesn’t work to build up the character of Christine. We are treated to a Meet The Parents style sequence at one point that really is only present to solicit dark giggles and a little bit of eerie tension, but other than that virtually every sequence in Drag Me to Hell is a motor for the plot are a way to further enhance the three dimensionality of the leading lady. In a time when cinema has become increasingly flabbergasted and bloated, audiences tend to applaud a director who edits his movies with a chainsaw, keeping the story at the requisite length so it remains both engaging and exciting.

Those looking for genuine fear might feel under-served by Drag me to Hell. The movie definitely packs a respectable amount of creepy atmosphere and nifty boo moments, but isn’t really that fascinated with amassing a cavalcade of adrenaline rush terror. Raimi has lost none of his potency with a well placed gag, turning yuks and slime into the source of belly laughs, and even hardened horror fanatics will be caught once or twice by the loud and bombastic jumpy moments that populate the production. Those inexperienced in the horror genre are advised to avoid the supersize soda before venturing to this movie, via Raimi’s talent for catching viewers of guard they’re bound to have spit all over themselves by the 30 minute mark. On leaving the theater a friend of mine commented that Drag me to Hell was remarkably like An American Werewolf in London in it’s well crafted teaming up of salacious humor and efficient horror, a contrast that I would endorse.

Kudos also has to be handed out for the tricky and hard-to-handle ending. The movie toys with the viewer constantly in the last 10 minutes, suggesting at least three different conclusions to the picture, and then taking the most surprisingly effective one. The finish is also without giving too much away, a ballsy move, especially within the benchmarks of PG-13 material.

From a technical stand point some of the CGI deployed is dodgy but the cinematography is stylish without being to overstated, a sort of amalgamation of Raimi’s times in the low and high budget ends of the filmmaking spectrum. The lighting is often well placed to heighten the more frightening and shocking moments, and the soundtrack actually works as a neat comedic prime one more than one occasion. It’s not outstanding musical work from Christopher Young but it’s no disgrace either, and lets the visual energy steal the spotlight.

The movie is worked from an original concept by the Raimi brothers, sure at times they rely on hokey plot devices and creaky mythology, but their movie moves effortlessly and at a pace that keeps the fun levels at an intense and enjoyably relentless high. Drag Me to Hell isn’t a perfect film by any means and probably won’t go onto be considered a genre classic, but given it’s creator has been out of the horror game for 22 years, it’s a semi-spectacular return.

Closing Statement
Well I made it……a full review without comparing Drag Me to Hell to The Evil Dead. I think from my analysis of the film you can come to the conclusion on how the two size up to each other, basically there isn’t much of a surprise in the victor. Still, Drag Me to Hell is a fresh, funky and at times really funny way to spend a summer evening, Raimi is back in the genre that made his name and on the basis of this enjoyable and spooky frolic, I hope he stays for a long time.

The Verdict
7/10