DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)

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"I desire the soul of Christine Brown.We wil feast upon it while she festers in the grave!"

It has been a while sense I have gone to a horror movie that made me jump. Usually they come when a scene is quiet and the mood is set, only to surprise you with a scary image and a loud noise. They used to make a woman jump into the arms of her boy friend , or make a child cover his or her eyes in fear. But above all, they are supposed to be fun. I would have to say that this one lived up to the hype.And to top it off it had an intriguing story. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is having one of the worst day's of her life, she's trying to fight for an assistant manager's position at her bank. Adding to this is her boy friend's mother who doesn't feel she's up to her standards . The movie presenting Christine as a genuinely kind person who always wants to "do right" rather than get ahead. Unlike most horror movies, Drag Me to Hell makes it's lead character interesting and someone to root for. That is, until she does decide to stray from her nice path and deny Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver) another extension on her house. One curse and a really fun cat fight later, Christine is cursed and will be dragged to hell three days. The opening scene and credits do a solid job of establishing where the movie is headed . The story drives the movie forward even when the wheels are turning very slowly.The one problem the movie has was it wants to be horror movie with some good laughs, which is fine. However it tends to go for laugh out loud comedy that falls flat. But then Drag Me to Hell grosses out horror fans, for instance when Sylvia accidentally crashes onto Christine and spews some liquid all over her. It's gross and it makes the audience cringe in disgust. Then there are some solid scares, namely a scene toward the end involving a goat and when Christine is being chased by the lamia to her house. Then the movie goes on to make you jump with every scare and every loud noise to follow it. Alison Lohman was likely chosen because she looks good screaming,it sure as hell wasn't because she's was a well trained actress. Justin Long though, is the exact opposite and does a great job. Lorna Raver is fine as Slyvia Ganush but the real stand out of the supporters was Dileep Rao as Rham Jas the spirit counselor.But its Lohman who tries to bring these scenes down with her bland and confused look. She handles the screaming well, far better than Ellen Paige could have, but she's dull when she's doing everything else.Don't get me wrong though,I liked this movie and thought it was one of the best horror movies of the year. I think most horror fans will like this movie as a whole.