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A 'Hell' of a good time
Director Sam Raimi's return to horror is both chilling and funny.
Published online on Friday, May. 29, 2009
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Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" trilogy, released in the '80s and early '90s, is one of the great examples of a director blending the macabre with the comical.
He uses that chills-and- giggles formula to make "Drag Me To Hell" one of the best horror films in years. In many ways, it's also one of the best comedies.
At the heart of this chiller is bank loan officer Christine Brown, played with zeal by innocent-looking Alison Lohman. Brown is so determined to win a promotion that she denies a third loan extension to the very strange Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver).
This proves a bad move as Ganush puts a curse on Brown. In three days, a demon will drag her soul to hell. Until then, the demon will torment and abuse her.
The movie goes from terrifying to silly in the blink of an eye. For example, the demon attacks Brown in her garage. The attack ends when Brown goes Wile E. Coyote and drops a conveniently located anvil on the demon's head in an eye-popping moment. Screams quickly turn to laughs.
MOVIE REVIEW"Drag Me To Hell," rated PG-13 for language, violence, adult situations. Stars Alison Lohman, Lorna Raver, Justin Long, Dileep Rao. Directed by Sam Raimi. Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes. Grade: A-
Then there's the fight sequence in a car when Ganush confronts Brown in a parking garage at the bank. This is where the curse is cast.
The office supplies Brown is taking home to do some work become weapons. Mix in flying dentures and drooling bites and you've got the kind of sequence horror film buffs will talk about for years.
Raver's Ganush joins the ranks of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees as a great horror film character. She's equally terrifying and hard to stop.
Raimi makes the movie white-knuckle scary without resorting to buckets of blood or endless acts of violence. He's smart enough to leave some of the terror to the imagination using eerie shadows, sound effects and a creepy soundtrack to create chilling moments.
Lohman's casting is heaven-sent as as her character's mixed emotions play across her cherubic face. Without her serious side to ground the movie, the comedic moments would be as out of place as a cold glass of water in Hades.
"Drag Me To Hell" has only one minor problem: The plot-twist ending is too obvious. By then, the movie has been so entertaining such a flaw can be forgiven.
Rick Bentley can be reached at rbentley@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6355. Read his blog at fresnobeehive.com
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