Hide your Spider Man-obsessed kids because Sam Raimi has finally returned to directing a horror film! But wait…a PG-13 rating?! I’m sure most people found that questionable when hearing about Drag Me to Hell, Sam Raimi’s long-awaited return to the horror genre. But don’t let the rating fool you because Drag Me to Hell packs just as much punch and gross-out moments as his early horror films.
Sam Raimi first became world renowned amongst horror and cult film fans with his Evil Dead trilogy, filled with demon possessions, vomiting, limb-dismemberments, decapitations, chainsaws, boomsticks, amazing quotes, and Bruce Cambell! The Evil Dead trilogy sparked an array of toys and action figures, and even first-person shooter video games (first-person chainsaw-wielding is more like it!) featuring all of our favorite characters and quotes from the films. Like The Evil Dead trilogy, Sam Raimi has graced us with yet another slapstick-comedy/horror blend of a film.
The film follows the beautiful and kind-hearted loan officer Christine Brown (played by Alison Lohman). Overcoming her softy attitude in order to please her boss, Christine decides to deny a creepy old woman by the name of Mrs. Ganush a third extension on her mortgage and evicts her in an attempt to beat out her overzealous rival, loan officer Stu, to a promotion. In just a short time we are subjected to witnessing Mrs. Ganush cough up thick globs of phlegm and even removing her full set of teeth. After making a huge scene by dropping to her knees and pleading with Christine to give her another extension (this includes creepily crawling towards her and kissing her hands), Christine yells out for security. Mrs. Ganush makes it very obvious that she’s upset and ashamed and lunges towards Christine. Security officers successfully pry her off and escort the woman out of the building. Upon leaving the office at the end of the day, Christine notices the old woman’s car parked across from hers in the parking garage and is then attacked once again. For an old woman, Mrs. Ganush sure puts up one hell of a furious fight! Mrs. Ganush then manages to steal a button from Christine’s jacket and puts an evil curse on her (all are scenes that are shown to us in the trailer by the way).
Throughout the film Christine frantically searches for a way to break the curse while being brutally attacked over and over again by an unseen demon. Unable to convince her boyfriend Clay (played by Justin Long of “Hi, I’m a Mac” fame), she visits a psychic medium who tells her that she has been cursed with the worst of all demons, the Lamia. While becoming overwhelmed with talks of sacrifices as a way of ridding herself of the demon, the medium warns her that she will soon become very surprised at just how far she will be willing to go. “Here, kitty kitty!” What follows is a very entertaining and comedic thrill ride in which Christine goes to great lengths to try and rid herself of the curse.
Sam Raimi delivers a huge treat to all us horror fans, and especially to those who have fallen in love with Raimi’s Evil Dead films. We get to see many small similarities in style to those films, including intense on-the-edge-of-your-seat scenes, a quirky and obnoxious violin score that makes you feel as though you’ve taken a couple hits of espresso, demon-possessed individuals happily dancing in mid-air, hilarious over-the-top moments, and just enough gross to make your throat tense up. Definitely a film that calls for a whole family outing wouldn’t you say?!
“Hail to the king baby!”
