*** Official DRAG ME TO HELL Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Michael Elliott]

Surely some other horror buffs were up early to go check this one out. I was worried about the PG-13 rating but Raimi didn't seem to take away from his "vision" trying to keep anything tame for the rating.


Drag Me to Hell (2009) :star::star::star: Sam Raimi

A loan officer (Alison Lohman) is wanting a promotion so her boss advises her to play it tough in her decisions on the job. In walks a gypsy (Lorna Raver) needing an extension on her house but the officer turns her down, which gets a curse put on her. Soon the officer finds her life turning upside down as she slowly becomes possessed by a demon. The horror community went nuts when they learned that Raimi was coming back to the genre but I had mixed feelings walking into the film because of the PG-13 rating. As I walked out I still had mixed feelings on the film because some of it was downright brilliant while some of it needed some work. One thing I will say is that the movie has a very similar plot to THINNER and in some ways the two films follow the same path including a couple twists in the story. What does work in the film are the performances by Lohman and Raver. Both women are very strong in their roles and they make us care about them. You can't help but feel bad for the gypsy woman when she's begging for her home but then you can't help but hate her with the evil she turns on. Lohman makes for a good victim and you can't help but feeling for her. The visual look of the film was quite impressive and you can tell you're watching a Raimi film. The director does a great job at building some suspense and that includes an early scene in the garage, which is perhaps one of the better moments in a horror film from recent memory. The early possession scenes are also extremely well done. What I had mixed emotions on are some over the top CGI effects with one coming in the form of two eyes, which you'll know when you see. Another issue is at times there seems to be too much comic approach. The film certainly doesn't go for laughs but it does like to play a childish gross out factor including slime, worms and various other things being thrown up. It looks fake and it takes away from the suspense that was otherwise trying to be built up. There are about three different endings in the film and I didn't get for the middle one. I'm not going to spoil anything but you'll know what I mean after watching the film. The twist at the end is something I saw coming but it's good to see Raimi stick to it and not try to cheapen it. All in all I was happy to see the movie but a second and perhaps third viewing will be needed. There's some slapstick thrown in via EVIL DEAD 2 style but then there are some dark and evil moments like something from THE EVIL DEAD. I don't think the film is a complete masterpiece but it's still very impressive and I'm sure Mr. Raimi will find himself starting up a new book for future genre films to follow.

 

[TravisR]

I think Drag Me To Hell will take some criticism because elements of it are very, very reminiscent of The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 to a lesser extent but I liked it. While there's some stuff that's similar to the Evil Dead movies, the tone of the movie is still serious and scary. There's alot of LOUD NOISE!!!! scares which I normally don't care for but they worked here. Overall, I can easily recommend it to fans of The Evil Dead (although not the ones who watch it to be ironic or because they think it's campy).

For anyone worried, the PG-13 rating didn't seem to hinder this movie at all. My guess would be that if it this movie had been rated R, they just would have cursed more.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

I enjoyed the movie a good deal, but wanted to make two points;

1) The ads for this movie have some of the worst hyperbole I've ever heard. AICN should never be quoted again after claiming this "The single most satisfying film experience... ever!" Seriously, F*&K you AICN.

2) I am not a moron, nor do I have the attention span of a cat. The idea that I'm not going to know the whole damn time that it was the coin and not the button is just insulting. It ruined very much the effectiveness of the ending.

 

[Sandro]

What was terrible about the ad campaign? The only problem I see is that it is being marketed as a straight horror film whereas there is a great deal of humor in it. I am actually surprised how much of an ad campaign this got. If it does not do well it will be a shame because this is an American "mainstream" horror film that is not a remake or sequel.

Horror fans should go out and see it because it is just a fun blast from the past with Raimi's trademark mix of gross-out and humor. The scene in the car is great. The movie is not really that scary or disturbing and I got tired of the (really) loud jump scares.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

As a classic horror fan I enjoyed the tributes to Curse of the Demon

 

[Patrick Sun]

This film was a hoot. It was gross and funny and horrific in spots. The character development wasn't all that great, but it's a film built around the shock and scare of the horror movie genre with a good sense of humor behind the camera. This is the kind of film enjoyed with a good sized audience who get all caught up in the mayhem on the screen. It's like a scary amusement park ride, not as much fun riding it alone.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "Drag Me to Hell". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!

If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an Official Discussion Thread.



Crawdaddy

 

[Robert Floto]

My review is thus..

The Sam Raimiest Sam Raimi film I've seen in years!

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Lots of fun. Not a true horror movie in the strictest sense though. Moments of cartoon violence or comedy schtick undermine the tension.