Drag Me to Hell

Horror movies need to keep changing the game to stay interesting. Something like The Descent which relies on darkness and claustrophobia or recently My Bloody Valentine in 3D. Its not that its harder to terrify the audience but it is difficult to do it well. Director Sam Raimi's beginnings were in the world of horror. Evil Dead has become a cult classic as has Evil Dead 2. The reason these movies worked well in the 80's is because they were distinctly different from the schlock being produced at the time. He was able to bring this element of goofiness and accidental humor to some pretty gory and nasty visuals.

After many years of directing in different genres, namely comic book films (yes he directed the terrible sequel, Spiderman 3 but it was also the studios fault) he returns to scare the hell out of people. Did he succeed? Well, almost.
I wasn't sure what I was getting into watching this movie. I have seen the bad reviews by the common man (you know us little people who don't get paid for our opinions) and the adoration bestowed by so many critics. I can see where and what both were witness too. The beginning is shocking and pretty effective. Overall the movie has some interesting and shocking gross out scenes. Definitely gag inducing. There are some just crazy moments that are like OMG. All of this is more of the first hour of the film. Towards the last act things get a little too wacky and silly to really care. One word comes to mind: Goat. I like the lead actress, Alison Lohman. She handles this material with a sincerity and motivation that works well within the confines of a surreal, demonic movie.

The effects are well done and the visual gags work. One Word: Gums. I can't say I didn't like the movie because I found it to be entertaining and hilarious. It did make me feel uneasy at times and some of the imagery was pretty frightening. Its supposed to be a horror-comedy but I think most won't be able to take it as such. My Grade: B-
Note: The movie is very LOUD, you've been warned.