Things seem to be going pretty well for Christine. She has a good job as a loan officer at a bank, a rock star psychology professor boyfriend, and an adorable baby kitty cat at her luxurious home. She's a good person and doesn't really even stand up for herself when the new guy at the bank is angling for her promotion. So why would anyone want to eff with her? Well, when an old gypsy woman comes into the bank begging for a third extension on her mortgage, Christine decides to show a little initiative and backbone at work by doing what's best for the bank and denying the extremely creepy and downright disgusting woman. This sets the old gypsy off and she decides to curse our dear Christine with a demon who will torment her for three days before it eventually drags her to hell!
Sam Raimi has been away from the horror game for quite some time, but rest assured, he is far from rusty. The man who brought us the Evil Dead films, Spiderman, and DarkMan has managed to infuse his horror skills into all his films regardless of genre. So when it came time to dust off the buckets of blood, he assumed his role as expert spookologist like an adult revisiting a bike. Raimi may have grown up, but his film tactics sure haven't; Drag Me to Hell is just as campy, silly, and disgusting as you'd expect from a much younger director. Raimi has just been around so much and done this so many times before that he does it to perfection. He manages to balance the gross out moments, the humor, and the scares expertly to create a brisk, fun 90 minutes in a film. It's nice to see all his cinematic tricks at work, because really, I can't think of another horror director that leaves a trademark on the screen quite like Raimi.
The acting is pretty solid across the board with the adorable Alison Lohman anchoring the cast as our protagonist Christine. She also gets some good support with Justin Long as her caring boyfriend and Dileep Rao as a psychic who does his darndest to help her placate the demon and escape her impending fate. Lorna Raver as the gypsy Mrs. Ganush and Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza as the medium who can embody demons walk the perfect tip toe line between ridiculous and terrifying.
While the film is far from a masterpiece or cinematic perfection, it is a totally fun trip. The version I saw was a work in progress, but it seemed to require very little tinkering, as I felt it was a rock solid outing. I was pretty skeptical of the film after viewing the trailer, but rest assured the film is worth the trip. When release date for this bad boy rolls around, be prepared to be dragged to hell.
--Greg MacLennan
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