Drag me to Hell

After watching the pre-credits opening of Sam Raimi's Drag me to Hell the use of the old Universal Studios logo, reference to old horror movies, Like Dracula and The Wolfman, you will find yourself on the edge of your seat, biting the end of your fingernails and welcoming back the director of th Evil Dead Trilogy and Spiderman to the schlock-comedy genre that he created.

The story sees Christine Brown played by Alison Lohan [Gamer], a normal, decent person hoping to get a promotion at work and further her career. She has a wonderful husband Professor Clay Dalton played by Justin Long [Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Die Hard 4.0]. But when an old lady called Mrs. Ganush played by Lorna Raver, asks for an extension on her loan, Christine refuses as she wants to prove to her boss that she can make the tough decisions, all hell breaks loose as she is cursed and will be tormented for three days before she is literally dragged to hell.

Sam Raimi does not have the usuall case of jumping cats, or doors slaming shut. Instead he focuses more on shadows and images that would be hard to forget [see the shadow on the wall as it a homage to Nosferatu which is Murnan's silent classic].

The film itself is fantastic and looks like a classic. It cleary refers Alfred Hitchcock by the use of shadow and camera angles that are low angles shots and the use of tilted frames. But the films main success is the use of sound that is absolutely exquisite, from creaking floorboards, to blown fuses and bilowing curtains. Raimi cranks up the tension with music to allow the audience to engage with the characters and feel like they are going along for the ride.

The film mixes a fantastic blend of comedy and horror, where as most of the scary monents are compensated by the use of comedy and cartoonish action that suggests that after directing the Spiderman Triology, Sam Raimi has not forgotton how to do cult.

Its a refreshing take on the genre and is the best horror film I have seen for a long time that has an original story and has an original feel to it. It is not just another remake. Future horror fimakers should watch this film to see how it is done. A must see for any horror fan.