Drag Me To Hell Movie Review
Sam Raimi is Back With New Splatterstick Horror Masterpiece
Have you ever wondered what a splatter genre horror film might be like if it were directed by Bugs Bunny? Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) may have made the closest film you'll ever see to that, a horror/black comedy hybrid called Drag Me To Hell.
Sam Raimi and Horror
Since the film Army of Darkness, horror fans have clamored for Sam Raimi's return to horror. That 1992 film marked the third entry into his 'Evil Dead' trilogy. Since then, Raimi has of course joined the pantheon of star directors with his amazing take on the character Spider-Man in the films of that trilogy.
Many fans assumed that Raimi would make his genre return with a reprisal of the Evil Dead films, with cult favorite actor Bruce Campbell coming back as that series' hero Ash. Instead, or perhaps just before, Raimi has surprised his fans in a return to 'splatterstick' (the subgenre he helped to create) with this all new movie idea, Drag Me To Hell.
To Hell and Back
The plot of Hell is simple but effective. An old woman (Lorna Raver) is denied an extension by well meaning but ambitious bank clerk Christine (Alison Lohman). The woman responds to the rejection and public humiliation with a "curse", which she puts on the loan officer by the use of a single button from her coat.
Panic ensues, as Christine begins to realize that the old woman's curse is real, and crazy scene after crazy scene unleash in a rapid succession. The teller's skeptical boyfriend Clay (Justin Long) and a side street medium (Dileep Rao) do their best to try to help her, but in the end she may have to handle it herself.
The Horror...The Comedy...
Raimi has crafted a bizarre film, a weird combination of the sublimely scary and the absurdly comic. It's The Omen meets The Looney Tunes, with moody set pieces and creepy music giving way to over the top splatter and insanely kooky mayhem.
The film's soundtrack is utilized as well as any film since the aforementioned Academy Award winning The Exorcist, emphasising the bizarre jump scares to the utmost effectiveness. The special effects are top notch too, with Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger providing convincing practical effects to go along with the CGI based carnage.
Raimi's creative camera work swoops and slithers in creative fashion, in an emphasis of the liveliness and overall strangeness of the film. It's a work of a genre master, with no wasted scenes and the cinematic appeal never wavering.
The film is an entertaining romp through the perverse Raimi imagination and hurtles along relentlessly to it's inevitable conclusion. Horror fans take note: this could be the one you've been waiting for.
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