Ridiculous, But Fun

Drag Me To Hell Review

Pay attention to the goat. That’s all I have to say about that.

This movie has gotten remarkably good reviews for a PG-13 horror film, likely a credit to Sam Raimi and Co.’s insane over-the-topness.

The set-up has Alison Lohman as a loan officer at  a bank deny an old lady a loan, kicking her out of her house. The old lady puts a curse on her. Catch is, Lohman could have given her the loan, but chose not to so she could look good for her boss and get a promotion.

Yes, there are the same stupid jump cuts with a pounding scare trying to draw scares out of thin air we see in your average PG-13 horror.

But there’s also a scene where an old lady’s eyeballs pop out.

And another where she pukes bugs onto Alison Lohman’s face.

And another where her dead body drops onto Lohman, mouth ajar, and expels a ridiculously large amount of fluid onto her.

This movie knows what it is, which is an extremely goofy horror movie that’s a little scary but more so a lot of fun.

And I think the most interesting part of it artistically is the Raimi’s (Sam Raimi shares writing credit with Ivan Raimi) slow burn towards making the protagonist Christine unlikeable.

Obviously her initial act is a little unlikeable, but that’s par for the course in these type of movies. What sets it apart is that Christine repeatedly exposes herself as selfish and cowardly. And even when she tries to repent, the Raimi’s delight in viciously punishing her.

By no means any sort of grand work of art, Drag Me To Hell is at least not boring. If you are the type of person who enjoys this sort of thing, where bodily fluid, scares, and dark humor are in equal supply, you’ll likely have a ball.

I encourage people to see this in theatres on a Friday night, unless you like your movies quiet, so you can shout “Ewww” along with the rest of the disgusted crowd.

Love that goat.

-Dan Benamor