Drag Me to Hell: Review By Bryan Yentz

Thank the cinematic gods… Sam Raimi has finally returned! It’s good to see that after taking so much time off to make two decent Spiderman films and a third which was better off being buried with the E.T. cartridges in Mexico, Mr. Raimi can still crank out a horror film of the highest order. Not only is Drag Me to Hell a superb film when it comes to tension and scares, but it’s also one that pays brilliant homage to what makes the genre so much fun in the first place.

Drag Me to Hell is a simple story of greed and… And… Uh, well… An old psychotic bitch with a penchant for ritualistic revenge and sentencing quite reluctant victims to hell. So, knowing that, you can pretty much guess the fate that poor Christine (played perfectly by Alison Lohman) is trying to avoid at the hands of the old crone. The damage that follows truly puts every---EVERY---recent mainstream horror flick to absolute shame. In classic Raimi form, scares hit with persistence and evolving creativity, humor is awesomely gross and dark as night, and the sound design and camera maneuvers are off the charts. Ahhh… This is horror movie heaven, my friends… Horror. Movie. Heaven.

Despite the fact that Raimi was responsible for films like Darkman and A Simple Plan, most knowledgeable viewers will immediately associate this maelstrom of chaos to his best and earliest work: The Evil Dead trilogy. Now, while those films are epically unforgettable as well as archetypal, there’s no denying the similarities between that series and this grim tale. Sam’s signature camera work is just as unbound as it once was, flying and colliding as if it were a demon all its own. The classic Oldsmobile from nearly all of Raimi’s films reprises its role as the dusty ride of choice. Hell, even the fly makes a return as a curious little bastard with a passion for noses… And mouths… And well, just being an all-around nuisance (true fans might realize the significance of this pesky creature).

And the clap-worthy characteristics don’t end there. As if the unrelenting havoc of the visuals weren’t enough, Sam and co. have truly brought the gut-punch of sound design to the forefront. Not only is the musical composition by Christopher Young a strange concoction of eerie and exquisite, but the sounds which accompany this score are just as powerful---if not more so. Bumps, thumps, screeches, crashes, screams---you name it---Drag Me to Hell utilizes, warps and distorts them in the most audibly penetrating ways possible. An immediate image of a demonic figure bathed in flame might shock you, but the nerve-shredding sounds that parallel it are what fully bring it home.

And because I can’t just applaud Sam Raimi…

I really have to say, the performances here are just phenomenal. I haven’t cared for Alison Lohman in anything she’s been in (though, I did love The Big White), but she undeniably carries the film with such delicate beauty and honest sincerity that you can’t help but adore her character and root for her all of the way through… And the punishment she endures? Well, she ain’t Bruce Campbell, but dammit---this girl can take a beating. Justin Long also does quite the commendable job as her caring, ever-loyal boyfriend. Both of their characters are so genuine that the relationship between them is entirely believable and accomplishes what SO many romantic films fail at---actually making you care for them not only as people, but a couple as well. And then there’s the antagonist… A vile, worm-spewing hag that’s as vicious and merciless as she is revolting and evil. When it comes down to it, she’s not only a terrifying personification of torment; she’s also one of the most memorable baddies to hit the big screen in a long time.

Drag Me to Hell is a splendid rekindling of what makes this genre so entertaining. It brings the shocks, it juggles the laughs, it toys with the audience… This film is a defibrillator to the dying horror canon that has been struggling to make a splash for years now. Quite simply, Drag Me to Hell reminds us not only why we go to the movies, but also why we appreciated ol’ veteran Raimi in the first place. In the words of my most favored of actors… “Hail to the king, baby.”