Drag Me To Hell
By Jose
Plot
A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.
Review
Christine Brown (Alison Loham) is a loans officer at a bank but is worried about her where she is going in life. She's in competition with a colleague for an assistant manager position and isn't too sure about her status with a boyfriend. Worried that her boss will think less of her if she shows weakness, she refuses a time extension on a loan to an old woman, Mrs. Ganush, who now faces foreclosure and the loss of her house. In retaliation, the old woman place a curse on her which, Christine learns, will result in her being taken to hell in a few days time. With the help of a psychic, she tries to rid herself of the demon, but faces several hurdles in the attempt.
Drag Me To Hell surprised many by actually being a good “classic” horror movie. Of course with Sam Raimi directing what do you expect. The scares are great and unexpected. The atmosphere of the movie felt suspenseful. I mean there is plenty more to say of the good of this movie. It didn’t need graphic gore and nudity like most horror movies use too much of. It felt like a great horror movie from the 80’s.
But there was a couple things that got to me. Too much use of CGI. There were many scenes where it worked and was needed. The hell grapping scenes, the ghosts/spirits, and a couple of stuff here and there. But then CG was used a couple of times that should have been skipped. Green vomit that, yes looked gross, but obviously added later on. You see it pouring on the girl but yet she is clean and dry. If you were going to go for it they should have went all the way and added it physically to the actress. The same thing later on involving a arm and mouth. Certain CG effects were sloppy and turned me off.. Yet the practical/physical effects were great. The possessed goat, make up effects, were all good. I would have liked them to use more of that instead of CGI.
Final Thoughts
The early trailers for Drag Me to Hell dubbed it as "the return to classic horror", and for once at least, they are correct.
Sam Raimi managed to incorporate genuine thrills and terror using the old-fashioned format of surprise, misdirection and suggestion. As a frequent viewer of horror films, little surprises me, but in this film I was caught off-guard several times while watching it.
While the majority of the movie is kept on a serious and foreboding level, much like the original "Evil Dead", Raimi can't help but throw in elements of the absurd and slapstick during some of the more horrific scenes, reducing the tension and echoing the latter 2/3 of the "Evil Dead" trilogy.
While I have nothing against the modern trend of horror movies to provide shocks merely in the form of how much blood and gore they spill, this flick was wonderfully refreshing. It's a must-see, not just for Raimi fans, but for anyone who loves a good scary story and a great movie in general.
Ratings 3 out of 5
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