Drag Me to Hell (2009) Review

Tagline: Even nice people can go to hell.

Drag Me to Hell (2009) Review

 

Director Sam Raimi first came on the scene with a little indie horror movie he made with his friends in the middle of the woods that no one on the production expected would turn out to be as successful as it did. That little movie was The Evil Dead, and Raimi went on to become a big Hollywood success, eventually directing not one, not two, but three live-action Spider-Man feature films. When Spider-Man 3 came out in 2007, it was considered a disappointment despite still doing well financially, and Raimi sought creative differences as the reason it didn’t turn out as great. Instead of sticking with the comic book franchise and doing Spider-Man 4 as originally planned, you know what he did instead? He went back to his horror roots and made a dumb supernatural flick called Drag Me to Hell…only it isn’t actually as dumb as it might seem.

The setup is simple and concise: Christine is a bank loan officer vying for a promotion. She’s a good person, her boyfriend Clay loves her, and her boss likes her, but she thinks she needs to be tougher in order to get that promotion over Stu, the threatening new guy. So, when a creepy old woman comes in and asks for a loan extension, Christine turns her down. The old woman doesn’t let it go—she begs her, then she brutally attacks her in the parking garage after work. She takes a button from Christine’s jacket, and that’s all it takes for her to put a curse on Christine. Christine consults a fortune teller, and must try to figure out a way to break the curse before she is literally dragged to hell by the evil demon that now follows her.  

Drag Me to Hell recaptures the same blend of horror and campiness from The Evil Dead, but manages to do so without repeating the same tricks. Obviously it doesn’t have the same low budget charm with it coming from a big studio, but it manages to be scary even with a primarily urban setting, many of the scariest scenes taking place in broad daylight, and most impressive of all, sporting a PG-13 rating. Raimi’s Evil Dead films are gory, extreme examples of R-rated horror, but Drag Me to Hell doesn’t come off as watered down and it doesn’t feel like Raimi held back. There are still plenty of gross-out gags and disturbing moments. One of the most memorable scenes for me is when Christine has dinner with Clay and his parents. It’s her first time meeting them, and when the old lady’s eye appears in her slice of cake, it makes the already difficult evening even worse.

It isn’t as insane as The Evil Dead, but Drag Me to Hell is one of the few 2000’s horror films worth remembering. In spite of some crappy cgi effects and a cast lacking any standout actors, it achieves that unique Raimi blend of fright and fun, and will keep you going right up to the very end.