Drag Me To Hell

Drag Me To Hell (2009)
Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver

A return to form for Raimi. This was the 'loudest' film I have ever seen and I'm not kidding; it was blasting when I saw it at Arclight with my son River. No joke the sound was at 11, this of course made the film scarier.

Raimi knows how to scare and gross out an audience, he's been doing it for years; starting with Evil Dead almost 30 years ago. Years of making big Hollywood movies has polished his style, making his return to horror a slick high-end package, well crafted and very scary. Well, when I say scary I mean Raimi scary, it's always tongue in cheek which makes his gross-out spectacles easier to stomach.

I laughed and screamed at this movie - it was scary, silly, gross and full of suspense. Alison Lohman was perfectly cast as the smart young bank worker, vying for the assistant manager position. Trying to impress her boss, she refuses an over-extended old lady (who happens to be a witch) an extension on her mortgage; essentially throwing her out of her home. All hell breaks loose as the witch sets a demonic curse (the Lamia, a goat demon) on the poor girl, sending her life spiraling into hell. The climax is double barreled with a good twist, that if you're watching closely you can see coming.

In this film Raimi drives the train with confidence and delivers 100% on the thrills. I really enjoyed it and I saw it again on DVD and it was just as good 2nd time around. I am a fan of most kinds of horror and usually PG-13 means it will be not very frightening, not in this case. The gross out action is insane, blood and guts were restricted, so Raimi makes up for it in buckets of vomit and a terrifying creepy witch. Good late night DVD rental and if you're a fan of Horror, its a must-own.