Cinema review
Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, David Paymer
Release date 27 May 2009
A young and ambitious banker turns down a sickly old lady’s application for a third extension on her mortgage repayment. As a result the poverty-stricken pensioner unleashes a cruel curse…
Sam Raimi might be rolling in riches after the success of his Spider-Man movies but you would never know it from the storyline of Drag Me to Hell. Indeed, the director’s long-awaited return to terror reserves its ire for bitchy bankers and, considering our current cash-starved climate, it seems strangely apt.
The result is a raucous rollercoaster ride that masterfully moulds horror and hilarity – sure to remind any self-respecting fear-fiend why they fell in love with the blood and bile of The Evil Dead trilogy in the first place.
However, if the movie does make one minor misstep it is by never giving us a reason to feel that poor Alison Lohman warrants all of the physical and emotional turmoil that her character endures. After all, she’s almost completely devoid of doing anything especially evil. Nevertheless, there is still some perverse pleasure in seeing the luckless lass being possessed, puked-on and convinced to kill her cute kitten – all done with just the right shade of sinister dark comedy. Kudos as well to Justin Long – playing her baffled boyfriend – who throws himself into a challenging supporting role and looks to be loving every lunatic moment of it.
He’s not alone. Drag me to Hell is Raimi’s finest feature since Army of Darkness and deserves to become a franchise player in its own right. Calum Waddell
VERDICT: 8/10
Seasoned scary movie mavericks will appreciate Raimi’s tip of the hat to such classics as Poltergeist, Suspiria and his own Evil Dead II, while blockbuster buffs will just delight at all of the devilish destruction.
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