REVIEW: Drag Me To Hell

STARRING: Alison Lohman, Justin Long View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 05/29/09 DATE SCREENED: 05/26/09 The Verdict GREAT - See it opening weekend

I generally don’t see horror movies, unless they involve vampires. Sam Raimi’s return to his horror film roots with Drag Me To Hell originally meant nothing to me. I haven’t seen any of his previous horror film efforts like The Evil Dead. Then something strange happened as I sat in the theater about a month ago and saw the trailer for Drag Me To Hell. The trailer made the entire audience almost jump from their seats. As it ended people were proclaiming they either had to see it, or would never see it. For the first time in a very long time the trailer for a horror movie actually made me want to see it. I’ve been singing the praises of the trailer for a month, so I was very excited to finally see Drag Me To Hell.

After the opening sequence there is no doubt as to the purpose of the film’s title. A young boy stole a necklace from a gypsy and had been cursed back in 1969. The scene ends with the boy literally being dragged to hell. It was surprising, as kids don’t usually get killed off in movies. The scene switches to the present day, where Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an L.A. loan officer vying for a promotion to an assistant manager position. Her boss tells her that she must show him that she is willing to make the tough decisions. A sick old woman named Mrs. Ganush happens to come into the bank on the wrong day. She needs an extension on her home loan, but Christine denies her the extension to prove that she is capable of making the tough decisions. This turns out to be a big mistake, as the old woman attacks Christine in the parking lot and puts a curse on her. Christine and her unbelieving boyfriend Clay (Justin Long) visit a psychic who tells Christine about the curse that has been put on her. Christine will be haunted by a demon for three days, after which time she will be dragged to hell. The clock is ticking as she attempts to fight back against the demon using the same Psychic who failed to save the boy back in 1969.

Drag Me To Hell isn’t the kind of intense horror film I was expecting. It’s much more fun than I could have imagined. The scene where Christine is attacked in the parking lot is tense, frightening, and hilarious at the same time. A séance sequence is another unforgettable combination of scares and laughs. Alison Lohman does a great job as Christine, going from a mild mannered loan officer to a “bad ass” willing to do whatever it takes to fight this demon. I’ve heard that some of Raimi’s previous horror films also have this blend of horror and comedy, but it was a completely new experience for me. This is the kind of movie that works best as a shared experience in a crowded theater. The film takes a simple plot and does a lot with it, forcing the audience to react countless times. I see so many movies that I forget a lot of what I see. There are scenes in Drag Me To Hell that I may never forget, and that’s the sign of a great movie. See this one opening weekend. Even if you are the type of person that doesn't generally like horror you should give this one a try.