‘I beg you and you shame me?‘
Acclaimed auteur Sam Raimi has had an eclectic career since bursting on to the scene with The Evil Dead in 1981. A career that has taken in the Spider-Man franchise, the cult classic Darkman and a failed The Wizard of Oz reboot. Raimi has never surpassed the dizzying lunacy of The Evil Dead franchise; however, although Drag Me to Hell is as close as he might ever get…
Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) just wants to impress her boyfriend’s parents and get a promotion at work. When she denies a loan to a mysterious old woman (Lorna Raver), Christine finds herself the subject of a terrible and terrifying curse. After a horrifying incident with her boss Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), Christine seeks the help of a mystic named Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to try and break the curse.
Drag Me to Hell is not technically part of The Evil Dead franchise, but it is very much a spiritual sequel. Various characters turn into Deadites upon inhabitation from an evil spirit, and all the quick cuts, ostentatious sound editing and heady mixture of gore and slapstick are all present and correct. It is truly joyful to see Raimi once again play in the sandbox that made his name, and the gleeful abandon that defines Drag Me to Hell suggests that he is having a great time too.
This is not just Sam Raimi’s movie, however. Lohman does a fantastic job in a challenging role, and the fact that she makes it so easy to root for a character who does some despicable things renders her decision to retire from acting in 2016 all the more disappointing. She really was a star in the making. Elsewhere, Justin Long is dependable as ever as Christine’s boyfriend and both Paymer and Rao nail the overall mood and tone that Raimi is searching for throughout.
Drag Me to Hell is rare in as much as it is a critically acclaimed and commercially successful horror film that was allowed to stand alone and tell a self contained story. This only makes the startling conclusion even more emotionally affecting, suggesting, as it does, a finality that is often lacking in the horror genre.
With this film, Raimi demonstrated that he still had the ability to create a genuinely successful horror film. A minor masterpiece.