It always pisses me off when there’s a director with a distinct style who strays so far from what made them great. Filmmakers that find a little bit of success and then never look back to their roots, ignore their fans, and just make mainstream shlock. This is why it was such a surprise to see Sam Raimi return to what made him Sam Raimi with Drag Me to Hell. It was the first time Raimi had made a slapstick-horror movie since Army of Darkness in 1992. Don’t let its PG-13 rating deceive you, this is everything you could ever want from the clown prince of horror.
Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown, a loan officer who evicts an old gypsy (Lorna Raver) from her home only to be cursed. Strange and horrifying events begin to unfold in Christine’s life as she searches to save her soul. Can Christine end the gypsy curse? Or must she be doomed to be “dragged to hell!” It’s so simple and yet so sweet. Drag Me to Hell sets up something very straightforward (in Raimi terms) and then leaves room for all the gross-out gags and effects sequences. The whole thing is like walking through some kind of haunted house, there’s something around every corner.
I love the premise and honestly, they had me at “Gypsy Curse”. Though it’s not as gory as the Evil Dead films, it’s just as gross. Popped eyeballs, puss, and other bodily fluids make Drag Me to Hell a gross-out fest that any fan would be proud to consider as a child to Evil Dead. The only thing that could have made it better would’ve been a came from Bruce Campbell, but alas, he wasn’t available for shooting. Nonetheless, Drag Me to Hell is a real ride.