"Drag Me to Hell" Review - Written by Anthony T

Drag Me To Hell
Year: 2009
Director: Sam Raimi
Studio: Universal Pictures
Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Rave
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 99 Mins.





PG-13 is a rating is what a horror fan hates to hear. If you’re going into “Drag Me to Hell” thinking that Sam Raimi has sold out by making a PG-13 horror film, then your going to be surprised, as this definitely a return to form. Sam Rami, who has created and directed such horror classics, “The Evil Dead” and “Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, as this film brings back old school horror, in a big way.

Christine Brown is a loan officer (Alison Lohman), who has ambition on moving up at the bank that she works at. One day an elderly woman come to the bank and asks for another extension on her loan. Christine is forced to evict the old woman, after being forced, by her boss to make a decision. Later that same day, she is visited, by that same old woman again. This time around, the woman decides to get revenge for what she did to here, by inflicting Christina with a curse that will send her to hell, in three days. Now desperate to save her soul, she is forced to turn to seer, in order to end her nightmare. As the evil and mysterious forces begin to drive her insane, as she has three days to get rid of this curse, or else she will be dragged into hell. Justin Long and Lorna Rave also co-star.

“Drag me to Hell is a nonstop scarefest, from the first minute to its conclusion. This film forgets the mess that was Raimi’s last film, Spiderman 3. What Raimi does here, he doesn’t let the film be made, in a Hollywood boardroom. This time around, he lets his horrifying vision, be the forefront of the film and it works very well, as the horror was pretty much nonstop. Raimi allows the atmosphere to take control, as it worked very well with the first two “Evil Dead” films that helped made it cult classics. His direction also does a very good job keeping you on the edge of your seat, by keeping the scares off balanced and in your face. It really added a lot of suspense and some very intense moments. This wouldn’t also have a feel of an old school horror film, if the score didn’t have the same haunting vibe, as the film itself. The score was perfectly done by Christopher Young, as it really added more of a darkness tone to the film. Raimi allows the score to really add to the horrifying suspense.

Another thing that makes this film successful, the acting. It’s very good, as this is probably the best well-acted American horror film since “The Mist”, which came out a little over a year and a half ago. Usually when a high up and coming star like Ellen Page drops out due to scheduling conflicts, there might be a problem, but that might have been a blessing in disguise. Alison Lohman does a great job carrying this film, as this is truly one of the best lead female performances in a horror film, in sometime. She does a great job making her character very innocent-like, while being very aggressive about her future ambitions. During the course of the film, Lohman does a great job making her character very terrified, which helps the character becomes strong willed and makes you heavily invested, in the character and ultimately the film too.

The screenplay written by Sam and Ivan Raimi is just masterful. This screenplay should be considered as a guide on how you can make a very scary PG-13 horror film, without dumbing down the frightening aspects. One of things that make their screenplay succeed, they focus on how to tell an effective story, while not trying to pander to the various demographics, in which these PG-13 horror films are made for. The Raimi Brothers did a great job focusing on the central aspects of the main character, while trying the scare the hell out of you. The film does a great job developing the main character, as you really get a sense of Lohman character, which makes you feel for the character, as she get put through these supernatural events. Also, I liked how they develop the backstory and history of this curse, especially in the beginning of the film. It sets up the film very well, as it makes it very clear that this going be of scares that come out of nowhere.

I know that us horror fans hate the dreaded PG-13 rating, but this is definitely a horror film that’s needing of support, from the hardcore horror base, as this truly one of the year’s scariest films and I would go as far to say that this is up there with the first two Evil Dead films, as Sam Raimi’s best work. “Drag Me to Hell” is sure to be up there as a cult classic for years to come.

Review Rating: Five Stars