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Once upon a
time, there was a little boy who wanted
nothing more than to make movies. Throughout
his impressionable years, he begged and
borrowed his way through the making of many,
many short films. Most starred his friends
and family and through perseverance, talent
and not just a little luck, he parlayed
his hobby into becoming a ‘Big Shot
Hollywood Director.’
I’ve always been a huge fan of any
project that had Sam Raimi’s name
on it. Whether it was as the director of
movies like the “Evil Dead”
series, “Darkman”, or “The
Quick and the Dead” (to name a few),
cameo appearances in Stephen King’s
TV “The Stand” and “The
Shining”, or his full-fledged comedic
acting turn in “Indian Summer”…
I have to watch. But many didn’t.
He eventually turned his eye to a few mainstream
films like “A Simple Plan” and
“For the Love of the Game” and
while they were good… they did not
have the Raimi signature style.
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Yet somehow these films are what finally granted
him the attention he needed to be given the opportunity
to direct “Spider-Man”… a move
that would finally make Sam Raimi as household
name. Unfortunately, he had to give up several
creative years to dive into directing what was
to become a “Spider-Man” Trilogy,
so aside from some producing stints… there
were no more horror films for Sam’s fans.
Until now…
“Drag Me to Hell” marks the return
of Sam Raimi to the genre that he does so well.
My concern was that Hollywood might have softened
him up a bit, even so far as to wonder if the
title referred to his having to work for so many
years within the structure of Hollywood suits.
But I put those concerns aside and wandered out
a few nights ago for an early screening, something
I rarely do anymore as I prefer the comfort and
quiet of my own living room to watch DVDs. After
all, it WAS Sam Raimi… it WAS a horror film…
and it HAS a terrific title.
“Drag Me to Hell” hits audiences
hard and heavy by giving them an example of just
what happens when you cross a gypsy. It’s
scary, it’s horrible and it’s loud.
Upon noticing that I was holding my breath, the
film moved seamlessly into a beautiful and appropriately
creepy title sequence. We are then introduced
to Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a somewhat
mousy loan officer at a smalltime bank. Her big
concerns in life are to one day get an Assistant
Manager’s position and impress her boyfriend’s
(Justin Long) rich and overbearing family. There
is little doubt she’ll have problems doing
either.
Her day begins like any other day, with the exception
of a visit by an old gypsy woman looking for help
with the payments on her house. She is close to
being evicted and is looking for little more than
another extension. Ever the one to help those
in need, Christine at first feels sorry for her…
but understanding that making the ‘hard
decisions’ is what will get her the job
she so desperately wants… turns her down.
You may note that I mentioned ‘gypsy’
twice so far… well it is interesting to
note that Christine does not know better than
to cross a gypsy… I mean EVERYBODY knows
that!! At this point, her life doesn’t just
go from bad to worse… it goes from bad to
the seventh level of Hell!
Not wanting to spoil the fun that is “Drag
Me to Hell”, I won’t tell you much
more about the plot other than to say that she
spends the next three days trying to find out
how to get out of being cursed. Christine goes
from being a nebbish to a fighter of the first
order. If you are at all familiar with Raimi’s
“Evil Dead” series, you’ll see
that she goes through ALMOST as much as our beloved
Ash goes through. I say almost, because the PG-13
undoubtedly kept Raimi from putting her through
as much torture as he might have liked. Still,
Raimi fans should rejoice, because there are enough
of great scares, extremely disgusting sequences,
and nods to “Evil Dead” to keep you
jumping, getting grossed out, and smiling all
the way through.
Raimi’s style has always been that of inventive
cinematography, extreme camera shots and borderline
cheesy material. But I’m not talking bad
cheesy, I’m talking intelligent cheese ball.
His earlier works were almost parodies on popular
genres, taking every stereotype to the extreme.
His style is unmistakable. Some people get it,
others… well, I feel sorry for those who
miss out. He used them to great effect here, and
his budget allowed to make them all look terrific.
Admittedly he did make a handful of choices that
I thought didn’t work, but they weren’t
bad enough to ruin the film.
I certainly have to give a standing ovation to
both Alison Lohman and Loma Raver (as the gypsy
woman, Mrs. Ganush) for their scenes together,
which were all made up of over-the-top madness.
I’m sure there were a few stand-ins (I imagine
Ted Raimi was in a costume here and there), but
they were definitely covered in… well…
all sorts of things several times. I was also
glad to see Justin Long in something where he
wasn’t just a comedy foil. He’s a
very talented actor, though here he seemed to
be channeling the spirit of David Schwimmer’s
Ross Geller (from “Friend’s). I was
detecting a little bit of ‘separated at
birth’ as the physical resemblance was uncanny.
There was very little to be disappointed by in
“Drag Me to Hell.” The only one that
comes to mind was the absence (unless I missed
something) of a cameo by Bruce Campbell (the greatest
B-Movie actor ever – shame on you if you
don’t know the name). He generally shows
up in every Sam Raimi film, but appeared to be
absent here. On the other hand, I was thrilled
to see Raimi’s yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta
88 (dubbed "the classic") make an appearance.
The Delta has been in every film and gets quite
the starring role here as Mrs. Ganush’s
car. Several of us hooted and hollered in the
theater when it showed up.
I also mentioned the nods to “Evil Dead”,
which also made me smile. Some of the makeup for
possessed characters was very reminiscent of the
makeup for the Deadites in the series and the
way they moved and fought was also very similar
(not to mention that one of the actors bore a
striking resemblance to a young Bruce Campbell).
And when animals get possessed… well that
same look is there, too. He also utilizes a lot
of the same camera moves and uses the same type
of sounds (to great effect) to disorient the audience
along with the hapless heroine.
Raimi’s return to horror (while not perfect)
delivered everything I was hoping for. It is far
superior in look, tone and overall delivery than
any other horror film I’ve seen in the last
several years. “Drag Me to Hell” is
99 minutes ‘chock full of Sam Raimi goodness.’
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver,
Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Reggie Lee
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 5/29/2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Sequences of Horror Violence,
Terror, Disturbing Images and Language)
http://www.dragmetohell.net/
We'll give Drag Me to Hell an A.
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