ManWithPez

Damn! Graverobbers are getting sexier every day!

Sam Raimi’s return to horror, Drag Me To Hell, signals that the Spider-Man franchise director hasn’t forgotten where he came from.  And, that’s straight out of the dinky little cabin in the woods from Evil Dead.  Indeed, he never really left, just took a break to direct some of the biggest grossing films of all time.  There are a few differences, of course.  You don’t direct the body of work that Raimi has and not pick up a few tricks.

It appears that Raimi’s knack for producing American remakes of Japanese horror films has started to rub off on him.  There’s not a lot I can say in relation to this that won’t spoil the film, but I will say this.  If you watch J-horror, you’ll notice a lot of minimalism.  Why do you think that is?  I think the answer is the primary difference between Western and Eastern audiences.  If you run into a few film snobs on IMDb, they will tell you that it has everything to do with the intelligence levels of American audiences.  I don’t think that’s it at all.  In fact, I call total bullshit!  Don’t be hatin’ on America.  In Asian cinema, it is more than acceptable to use an entire film to build up to one spectacular and terrifying scene.  You can go a good half hour in one of these films and not see anything scary.  That won’t do in America, where we like to jump at least every ten minutes.  This is a very general rule, as there are plenty of American films that are slow cookers, and plenty of Asian films where a boogeyman jumps out every five minutes.

The point in regards to Drag Me To Hell is that you get a good blend of American/Asian film sensibilities.  Yes, there are several frightening things to see here, and there are plenty of gross things as well (Again, Sam Raimi movie.), but what you’re getting is a ramp up to a truly spectacular ending.

Christine Brown(played so very well by Alison Lohman), likes her job, loves her boyfriend, and seems genuinely attracted to her lifestyle.  When we first see her, she appears to be taking elocution lessons by tape in her car.  Clearly she is not from the California locale she finds herself in now.  She works as a loan officer in a bank, and is eyeing a promotion to manager.  A hagard old woman comes in, looking for a third extension on a mortgage, lest her house be taken away.  Trying to secure her promotion, Christine makes the seemingly good business decision to deny the extension, sending old Mrs. Ganush (played here by Lorna Raver, and trust me, you won’t be forgetting her anytime soon.) into a blind rage.  She attacks Christine and is ejected from the bank.  She comes for Christine in the parking lot later that night (Girl fight!  Girl fight!) in one of the films funnier scenes.  I should say that the fight is funny, but the outcome is terrifying!  A curse, laid on Christine by Mrs. Ganush would appear to be the real deal. 

Later, on a whim, she goes to a fortune teller(Dileep Rao), who immediately tells her she’s cursed, and there will be grave repercussions for her in three days.  Scoffing at all this is her boyfriend (Justin Long, playing it straight for once) who thinks it’s all in her head.  As the curse takes it course, it becomes apparent that Christine is becoming more and more desperate, even offering a blood sacrifice(again, a great mix of horror and humor here) to the Lamia, or the demon that’s coming to take her away.

The scenes where the Lamia visits Christine are terrifying, and this is one of the links to some Asian films I’ve seen.  (Some American ones too…like, The Haunting.  Please!  The original…not that other pieceashit.)  Will you be getting a good look at this demon.  I can tell you no, but you will definitely know it’s there.  Sam Raimi uses sound manipulation (much like he does in his other horror films) to ramp up the scares.  He’s clearly hinting at something terrible, but you’ll have to wait to see what.  Alison Lohman gives a masterful performance as a woman who clearly believes the she’ll be dragged to hell if she can’t find a way out of this.  The audience is with her, because Raimi makes it all too real, while still firmly rooted in a silly horror film. 

Also, there’s a scene with a goat that makes watching this movie completely worth it.  When I saw this in the theater, I think ThatCostumeGirl and I were the only ones that seemed to like it.  There was a lot of grumbling and some booing at the ending, which I thought was fantastic.  Also, the supposed climax of the film, which takes place in a cemetary, is paced so that you are genuinely afraid for and hopeful for Christine.  There is some gore here, certainly, but the scenes with it seem to be so over the top as to seem cartoonish.  And, for me, that added to the fun of the film.  A movie like this shouldn’t be fun, and yet, that’s exactly what it is.  A good, scary, funny, entertaining date movie!

I’ll tell you this before I go.  The ending of this film has to be seen to be believed.  I thought it was fantastic, and to answer the people who were pissed off about it in the theater…maybe we were watching different films.  The movie I went to see was called Drag Me To Hell.  As you learn roughly halfway through the film, it’s inevitable.  Someone’s going to go to hell.  Who’s it going to be?  Our plucky heroine?  Her understanding boyfriend?  The rival from work?  Her boss?     

See it!  It’s silly, and it’s scary, and it’s totally worth whatever you have to do to see it.  Just don’t piss off any old gypsies on your way out to get it. 

 And, for the love of God, if you do…check to see that you have all the buttons on your coat!

Tags: Horror, Review

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.