Finally Sam Raimi has
come back to directing
horror. After movies
like "The Quick
and The Dead" and
of course all the Spiderman
movies, Raimi has finally
come back to the genre
he used to call home.
And thanks to Spidey
he now has a butt-load
of cash to remodel said
home and make it even
better.
Drag me to Hell
is everything the title
promises: campy, engaging,
and shocking; but not
shocking in the overused,
overly gruesome, true
to life way that the
Saw movies were shocking.
And not shocking in
that complicated plot
twist Japanese horror
kind of way either.
This is a refreshing
throwback to the way
horror used to be: weird,
disgusting and over
the top, comprised of
pure entertainment value.
The plot of the movie
is no secret, already
revealed by the trailers
and the title. Christine,
an everyday kind of
girl (played with excellent
facial expressions by
Alison Lohman) who is
a loan officer at a
bank, pisses off the
wrong creepy old lady
and gets cursed to be
plagued by a demon who
wants to drag her to
hell.
We all know what’s
coming, a series of
extremely unpleasant
events for the unwitting
Christine. So rather
than mess around with
the useless thirty minutes
of boring getting-to-know-you
plot development that
most horror movies use
to kill time, Raimi
has something creepy
and obviously foreshadowing
happen within the first
ten minuets. Then we
only have to sit through
maybe twenty more minutes
of plot development
with Christine and her
boyfriend Clay (played
by Justin Long from
the original "Jeepers
Creepers," but
best known as the archetypal
nerdy hipster in the“I’m
a Mac / I’m a PC”
commercials) before
the old lady shows up
and things start to
get nasty.
Raimi also thankfully
skips the typically
annoying plot device
where Christine would
have spent forty minutes
trying to convince Clay
that she is indeed cursed
while he keeps not believing
her and saying she’s
crazy. In fact, every
time things start to
look like they are heading
toward the cliché,
this movie turns around
and surprises you.
Just because we know
what’s coming doesnt
mean it has to be delivered
in the same old package.
Clay is skeptical but
ultimately sticks by
Christine, leaving the
rest of the movie open
for blood, worms, and
other random bodily
fluids to be spewed
at Christine from various
sources.
To explain any of the
scenarios in detail
would be the true spoilers.
Let’s just say
if you liked the Evil
Dead movies, you will
love what Raimi can
do with visual effects
when he has a lot more
money.
Christine is no victim
in the scenario, she
does her best to fight
back heading to a psychic
and a medium for help
to get rid of this demon.
This strength of character
makes the movie more
fun to watch; no boring,
weepie heroine here.
The ultimate question
then becomes can Christine
avoid being dragged
to hell? This I will
leave you to find out
on May 29th..
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