Director Sam Raimi may have reached global recognition with his Spider-Man franchise, but once upon a time he was a revered horror director and his Evil Dead series spawned many imitators. He returns back to his unholy roots for Drag Me to Hell, a horror about a loan officer (Alison Lohman) who, after evicting an old woman from her home, finds herself the new owner of a supernatural curse. She desperately tries to save her soul while the evil forces push her to breaking point.
Splatter maestro Sam Raimi (of Evil Dead notoriety) returns to his old stomping ground with this hugely entertaining horror flick, revelling with giddy pleasure in making his audience laugh and cower simultaneously. You’ll be summoning the wrong ghoul if you want bowel-draining terror but, on the other severed hand, Raimi’s playful approach creates a kitschy sense of fun that’s contagious.
Alison Lohman is perfect in the role of Christine, a kind-hearted country gal struck down by a most unfortunate curse. She provides a very watchable and extremely sympathetic presence as a well-intentioned worker, eager to please both her boss and her boyfriend’s snooty mother.
Raimi’s tight screenplay (co-written with his brother Ivan) puts poor Christine through the wringer, giving her a mere three days to avoid being dragged (literally, as the opening prologue warns) to Hell. It starts small – a pesky fly, an unfortunate nose-bleed, the crusty fingernails of a senile gypsy.
But then Raimi lets loose with a killer seance scene, chucking a sackful of supernatural stuff our way. Poltergeists, Victorian-era ghosts, possessed farm animals – it’s all very Ghostbusters. He shoots the material with goofy angles, powers up an armada of wind machines, and slaps a suitably operatic score on top.
In a year when blockbusters have tended to take themselves a bit too seriously, Drag Me To Hell is just the antidote. It’s gleefully gruesome, dead funny and hella entertaining.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
This movie is so Shi*
<<<<>>>>
Was More Funny then Scary,i think the Flick Review is a bit over the Top... Nowhere as scary as people are saying it is!
Sam Raimi is back in his element delivering a real virtuoso perfomance with this highly entertaining, tongue-in-cheek horror film. 'Drag Me To Hell' has more wit and invention in one scene than in the entire factory line of remakes/sequels/torture porn that have been passing for horror films lately. Funny, freaky, gross and knowingly cheesy, with a game lead performance from Alison Lohman, 'Drag Me To Hell' might not be the greatest film you'll see this year but it will certainly be the most fun!
Just come back from watching this movie and i literally screamed out aloud! This is a must do for all you people out there that think you cant get scared at the movies!
Drag Me to Hell is no "great" movie, but it's a helluva entertaining one. I loved it.
Thrilling and often hilarious, it’s good to see one of Hollywood’s most inventive directors fully reinvigorated. On this form, Spider-Man 4 should be a belter.
Raimi's still very much up to his old tricks, retaining that deliriously over-the-top brand of Grand Guignol horror that he had abandoned by the mid-'90s in pursuit of other genres.
With that fire in his belly, Raimi's Drag Me to Hell does everything we want a horror film to do: It is fearsomely scary, wickedly funny and diabolically gross.
Drag Me to Hell has a tonic playfulness that’s unabashedly retro, an indulgent return to Mr. Raimi’s goofy, gooey roots.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 23rd Jul 2009.
Release date: July 23rd 2009.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
