Drag Me to Hell

DRAG ME TO HELL

**** Out of 5

Release Date- May 29^th, 2009

Running Time- 99-Minutes

 

Rating- PG-13

 

Screenplay- Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi

 

Director- Sam Raimi

Starring- Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer

Drag Me to Hell marked Sam Raimi’s highly anticipated return to the horror genre, which he hasn’t been involved with as a director since 1987 with the Evil Dead II; the closest to horror Raimi has done since that is Darkman and Army of Darkness, but I wouldn’t label those two movies as horror. Sam Raimi has been active in the horror genre as a producer and quite honestly most of those movies have been very lackluster and everything wrong with the horror genre.

Kind of odd how the man who brought us the Evil Dead trilogy would later do a little bit of damage to the horror genre; now with Raimi becoming a high profile Hollywood filmmaker with his blockbuster Spider-Man movies a lot of people never thought he would return to the horror genre, but Raimi is back with Drag Me to Hell. A lot of people were upset with the PG-13 rating, but horror movies do not need an R-rating to be effective. I suppose it all depends on the movie being made; something like say the Evil Dead is a movie that needs an R-rating.

But many of the greatest horror movies of all time aren’t R-rated; take the classics of the 30s and 40s. They are low on violence, but have a great sense of dread and eerie atmosphere. Even some classics of the genre R-rated like the original Halloween is hardly violent and might actually be able to pull of a PG-13 rating and if it still got an R it would be a light one. Most recently Cloverfield provided why a rating doesn’t mean anything.

But with that said I was a little disappointed that Raimi went the PG-13 route with Drag Me to Hell, which seemed more off box office numbers than anything else, but I’m sort of surprised Drag Me to Hell got a PG-13 rating. While the movie isn’t very violent it has enough going for it to maybe warrant an R-rating. Nothing about Drag Me to Hell feels like PG-13. In no way does the rating hurt the movie at all and shows again that a movie doesn’t need an R-rating to be effective. But the overall tone for Drag Me to Hell feels like an R-rated movie.

While there are always exceptions most filmmakers as they go on they begin to decline; when you look at such Iconic filmmakers like Dario Argento and John Carpenter they aren’t what they used to be. While they have made some solid movies in the post 80s that was the era where they made their best movies; Sam Raimi appears to be one of the exceptions. Drag Me to Hell might not be Raimi’s best movie, but it’s a highly enjoyable movie and it’s quite clear Sam Raimi is still a terrific filmmaker.

Sam Raimi has gone mainstream with the success of the Spider-Man flicks, but while Hollywood produced they still have the Sam Raimi style. Drag Me to Hell is very much vintage Raimi. In the 90s he slightly strayed from his style with some more serious in tone movies like A Simple Plan and The Gift. Drag Me to Hell is sort of in the style of the Evil Dead trilogy as well as films such as The Quick and the Dead.

If you go into Drag Me to Hell expecting a straight up horror flick you’ll probably be disappointed; but this is a Sam Raimi movie so you should know what to expect. While there is horror elements this is sort of in the style of Evil Dead 2. To be honest there is nothing really special about the movie, but yet it’s so entertaining. I think Drag Me to Hell would rate as my favorite horror flick of 2009.

The screenplay written by Sam & Ivan Raimi is excellent; the characters are strong maybe not the best these two have created, but they are still solid and the comedy aspect is classic Raimi brothers. The screenplay is typical of the Raimi brothers; a lot of silly moments and over the top moments. Again you should know what to expect if you are a fan of Raimi. The screenplay is always entertaining and funny.

As director Raimi delivers another movie destined for cult status; one thing clear is Raimi is a fan of the Three Stooges, which he has shown in some of his movies; the camp value is quite high and while there are some moments of suspense most of those are more played for laughs and yeah it’s quite silly, but that’s the point. The pacing is excellent and each scene is as entertaining as the last. And just when you think it can’t get any sillier it does. Like I said this is very much in the style of Evil Dead II and very much a Sam Raimi movie. There are many gross out moments something Sam Raimi has done in the past and something like this you never seen in PG-13 movies.

The performances are quite solid with Alison Lohman and Justin Long in the leads. Like I said the characters are solid, but not Raimi’s best, but Lohman and Long make a little more out of their characters and both are terrific actors. Justin Long has had plenty of good roles, but he’s terribly underrated.

About the only flaw with Drag Me to Hell are some weak CGI; while it’s never terrible, but it just doesn’t look all that great at times. But it’s good enough not to take away from the movie.

Drag Me to Hell proves Sam Raimi is still a major force in the film industry and proves he can still deliver an excellent thrill ride in the horror genre. While there isn’t anything special about Drag Me to Hell it’s simply so much fun and also has a really twisted ending. This comes highly recommended to Sam Raimi fans.

What Prompted You to write a Review?
I want to keep people away from this movie.
 

How was the Plot, Acting, Direction?
This movie was pathetic.  I love Justin Long, but this is probably my least favorite movie with him in it.  The acting was terrible as was the plot.
 

Were You ENTERTAINED?
I was able to sit through the entire movie without turning it off, so I was somewhat entertained.  By the end, though, I wish I would've stopped watching a long time ago.
 

Did It Fulfill Expectations? Hype Level?
I was severely disappointed in this movie.  I honestly thought I would be watching a good horror movie, but I ended up laughing through the entire movie.
 

Did a Movie Trailer Establish a HYPE?
The trailer was what made me want to watch this movie.  I was excited to see this movie after watching the trailer, but I decided to wait until the DVD release.
 

Is This Movie Mainstream Or Pretty Obscure?
The movie is pretty mainstream.  It seems like a movie that any horror movie fan would like to see.
 

Above all, Establish Your Star Rating 1-5 Or 1-10?
Out of 10 stars, I would give this movie 2 stars.  It kept me entertained and laughing throughout the whole movie, but horror movies shouldn't do that.
 

How would you recommend the movie?
I don't recommend this movie at all.  I'm easily entertained, and this movie was a disaster.

The reviews are in and Sam Raimi's DRAG ME TO HELL seems to be a resounding success--with everyone but me that is. I wanted so desperately to like this film because I fell in love with Raimi's work about 15 minutes into EVIL DEAD 2 which was my first experience with his goofy, super-kinetic style and like almost every horror fan I've been eagerly/anxiously awaiting his return to the genre. Unfortunately DRAG ME TO HELL simply isn't the film I was waiting for. I can understand why so many others have embraced it because it is slick and its better than 98% of the stuff that studios have vomited upon multiplex screens for the past decade or so, but that doesn't mean its a good Sam Raimi film. For that reason I've decided to write the dissenting opinion to Woopak's majority opinion of this film.

Woopak calls this film "astonishingly familiar", that certainly is true but I've never regarded that as a virtue. What made Raimi the sensation that he became was the fact that everything about his films was unexpected, unpredictable, innovative, and original. He was a breath of fresh air. Here he is stale and seems to relying on "homages" entirely too much. I don't object to this at all, in fact I enjoy it under normal circumstances, but when the entire denouement of your film relies on CURSE OF THE DEMON you're ruining the film for a large portion of your audience that has figured out your ending a good 60 minutes before you get there--and that's just not fun. This film does not feel like a throwback to Raimi's past as Woopak claims. It doesn't even feel the least bit silly when compared to the exalted heights of goofiness achieved in EVIL DEAD 2.  Of course we can chalk this up to opinion I suppose, but which is sillier, being attacked in your car by an old crone who's trying to gum you to death and stapling her in the head, or being flipped off by your own hand after you've cut it off with a chainsaw because its spent the last five minutes trying to kill you? No contest.

Woopak welcomes Raimi's return to his "bombastic" style. I mourn the fact that this once truly creative and ingenious director has not grown beyond using a camera technique he copped from THE HAUNTING and then up-dating it by adding EXTREMELY LOUD noises and then using the same technique over and over again. He just shoves something in our face with a VERY LOUD NOISE and repeats ad nauseum. Loud is not SCARY. LOUD is simply LOUD. Granted a couple of the early scares do work very well, but whatever happened to the idea of setting up the scares? There is very little set up time here. If Raimi's going to give us non-stop horror like in ED2 then give us non-stop horror. If he's going to play it more conventional as he does here, then he needs more set up time that's just a fact of life.

Woopak claims that DRAG ME TO HELL is loaded with "frenzied slapstick" and "cheeky comedy". Great, that's what I was looking for, but we must have seen different movies. I suppose the part where the hag was trying to gum the girl to death was supposed to be funny so I'll count that one. And I guess the "Here kitty, kitty" line when she goes to kill her kitten was supposed to be funny so I'll count that one too. And then there was the scene in the garage but that was just a double-barreled rehash of a scene from EVIL DEAD 2, Raimi referencing himself, I almost laughed at that one. Maybe if you pointed out the laughs to me it would help. As "hilarious as EVIL DEAD 2" ? No way Jose! There's nothing as cool as Bruce looking into the mirror and trying to collect himself  by saying "We're alright" only to have his reflection reach out and grab him and reply "We just cut our girlfriend up with a chainsaw. Does that sound alright to you?" THAT'S funny! ED2 is loaded with that kind of stuff. Now you're going to tell me that DRAG ME TO HELL is supposed to be grounded in the REAL world--when you're cursed and you've got a lamia coming after you what's so real about that?

Woopak himself points out that there is 'nothing new" in this film, that it "does nothing to reinvent the genre". Well sir, that happens to be what the EVIL DEAD films were all about! They were all about being being so unsure of what was around the next corner that your head was literally spinning! They were about thinking "I don't know what this crazy guy is going to do next, AND I LOVE IT!!!"  And what do we get in DRAG ME TO HEll? a rehash of a scene from POLTERGEIST. In his review Woopak uses such words as "mediocre" "ordinary" and "predictable" to refer to this film and  I couldn't agree with him more.  And I know where the fault lies, the script.  When it comes to writing, Raimi is a great director.  My advice to him is to stick to directing and to look for pre-existing material that he can work with because as a writer he is clearly not up to the challenge. What was wrong with SPIDERMAN 3?  The script. Who wrote it? Sam and his brother Ivan. What's wrong with this movie? Its primarily the script. Who wrote it?   Yep.

In conclusion I 'd like to say that I've always judged films by how much they've managed to accomplish with the resources they have available to them. When judged in this manner DRAG ME TO HELL is a dismal failure.

HYPE FACTOR:  Sadly Over-hyped

What Pompted You to write a Review?
I am writing this review to let people know that I was not happy about this movie. I was very excited to see it when it came out and when I saw it, I said to myself, "Wow, what a complete waste of time"

 

How was the Plot, Acting, Direction?
The plot was good, they had a good idea that was poorly executed. Some of the acting was good but the lead female character was a huge disappointment. I feel that with the budget the film had they could have done a much better job.

 

Were You ENTERTAINED?
As far as being entertained by this failure, well I watched it through to the end just because I had to see how bad the whole movie was. It would not of been so bad but the special effects looked like they were done by a first year college kid. I think that is what bothered me the most. When a movie does not pull through with good special effects it ruins the movie for me. Everything just looked so green screened to the picture.

 

Did It Fulfill Expectations? Hype Level?
Overall I expected this movie to be much better considering it was done by Sam Raimi who has created some amazing horror films.

 

Did a Movie Trailer Establish a HYPE?
The trailer looked great. That is why I originally wanted to see this movie, Too bad iT WAS A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT


 

Above all, Establish Your Star Rating 1-5 Or 1-10?
I rated this movie a -5 It was just way too terrible.

 

How would you recommend the movie?
Only watch this if you are a true Horror fan and there are no other choices and you are really bored or you would just love to see it and make fun of it.

 

I really liked the cinematography of this film. It had a very surreal feel, sometimes almost cartoonish like something you would see in a show like "Tales from the Cryptkeeper." It made the movie unique, and so I liked it.