Drag Me to Hell

Sam Raimi seems to think he has something to prove. His latest movie, "Drag Me to Hell", is a return to his horror comedy roots after many people seemed to be let down by "Spider-Man 3". Personally, I felt that last film was a lot better than it's reputation, but still suffered from too much bloat. Regardless, his latest effort will most please the majority of his original fan base.

After a tremendous (and loud) B-movie cold opening, "Drag Me to Hell" starts with Alison Lohman playing a bank loan officer who just wants to get promoted. Her boss informs her the only way to do that is to make the "tough decisions". The very first of these decisions is to deny an extension for an old woman (Lorna Raver) on her home loan. Unfortunately for Lohman, this old woman is a gypsy (natch)! Raver puts a curse on Lohman after an extended fight scene in a parking lot that shows Raimi has not lost his touch for horror-movies-by-way-of-The-Three-Stooges film making. From there on in we follow Lohman as she is repeatedly pummeled and psychologically tormented by a goat demon called a Lamia. Anvils are droppes. Eyeballs pop out of cakes and kittens are sacrificed. This goes on at a frenetic pace for three days, after which she will be literally dragged to hell by the Lamia.

The plot is thin, but that's fine, it's not meant to be high art. This movie is an old school morality play in the vein of The Twilight Zone and E.C. Comics, complete with the obligatory twist ending. The difference here is the protagonist seems to be channeling the spirit of Wile E. Coyote. There is even a particularly memorable scene involving an anvil to the head. The pacing is like a roller coaster. The bulk of the film is played like a straight horror flick, with the audience wondering what's just around the corner, complete with a few rather weak "gotcha!" scares. However, these sequences are just setups for when everything goes off the rails. The camera goes all dutch angles and super fast pans, while Lohman gets a nose bleed like a geyser or fights a demon who dances a comical jig to tell her how her soul is doomed.

Lohman and Raver's commitment to play it all straight only make these set pieces all the more enjoyable. And they both take a lot of punishment in this film. Luckily, they aren't afraid to do some pretty embarrassing things for a laugh. Lohman in particular gives a great performance. Her descent from sweet, cherubic farm girl to angry near-sociopath almost makes you think she deserves her fate.

There are some down points to the film. A few of the call backs to Raimi's "Evil Dead" movies seem a bit awkward and forced. (Though a fight with a possessed napkin is pretty fun.) And there is quite a of bit gross out goofiness for a PG-13 movie, but it feels like it could have gone even further with an R.

In the end, Raimi has crafted another gleefully evil movie. One thing is for sure though, somewhere Bruce Campbell must he happy that Raimi has found a younger generation of actors to throw around the room on wires.