A rollicking white-knuckle ride through the classics elements that make a horror film, done well, such an enjoyable experience.
Drag Me To Hell (2009)
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Reviews Counted:204
Fresh:187
Rotten:17
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: Sam Raimi returns to top form with Drag Me to Hell, a frightening, hilarious, delightfully campy thrill ride.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for sequences of horror violence, terror, disturbing images and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:27-05-2009
Synopsis: After nearly two decades of successful detours into mature thrillers (THE GIFT, A SIMPLE PLAN) and superhero blockbusters (the Spider-Man series), director Sam Raimi returns--full tilt--to his... After nearly two decades of successful detours into mature thrillers (THE GIFT, A SIMPLE PLAN) and superhero blockbusters (the Spider-Man series), director Sam Raimi returns--full tilt--to his scrappy horror roots with DRAG ME TO HELL. Alison Lohman stars as Christine Brown, a soft-spoken Southern girl with a good heart, a PhD-toting boyfriend (Justin Long), and a job as a loan officer at a bank just outside of Los Angeles. When evicting a vile and negligent old woman named Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) seems to be the only way to secure an important promotion, Christine pushes her moral flexibility about as far as it can go (not very far at all) only to dearly pay the price as the recipient of a rather nasty curse. The next three days of Christine’s life amount to an unimaginable endurance test in which she is subject to physical and psychological torture while a terrifying demon draws ever closer to take her to hell, where she would burn for eternity. Raimi manages to keep the feverish awfulness of DRAG ME's central concept palpable while layering on his distinctly disturbing and exhilaratingly kinetic macabre-meets-slapstick portraiture, and the result is an efficient celebration of the art of horror movies that’s campy, scary, and fun. Similar to HBO’s classic TALES FROM THE CRYPT series, HELL feels like a living, breathing EC comic. While it may come as a minor shock that Bruce Campbell, the beloved mouthpiece of the EVIL DEAD franchise, is nowhere to be found in this unabashed horror-comedy, Christine is an excellent twist on Raimi's genre-hero archetype. Fans will get a kick out of seeing her inexplicably leave her gob agape as putrid projectiles pour in, and hearing her, after a bit of pushing, spout a Campbell-ism or two ("I’m gonna get me some!"). [More]
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Jessica Lucas, Adriana Barraza
Director: Sam Raimi
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Producer: Rob Tapert, Grant Curtis
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Drag Me To Hell
Raimi doesn't merely pull out all the stops in his new horror film.... He pulls them out, purees them, stews the pulp in phlegm and vomit, pours us a nice bowlful and then throws it right in our faces. I mean that in the nicest possible way.
It's like watching a slide down a slippery slope with big, sharp spikes at the bottom. For horror fans -- irresistible.
Drag Me To Hell is the most fun you'll have being scared for a long time. Nice to see you back, Sam.
A funny, inspired and genuinely thrilling horror movie [and] the best thing to happen to the genre in yonks.
As its shameless, tell-all, schlock title signals, Drag Me to Hell is great fun that goes light on gore in favour of inventive freak-outs.
I'm not sure I'd call it classic Raimi horror, because I think his very first films, the Evil Dead films, were quite a lot better than this. I just didn't really think it worked on the visceral horror level that he does so well at his best.
This is classic Raimi horror, it will appeal to fans, others will most probably run from the theatre.
Wit, invention and shrewdly earned shocks abound in Drag Me to Hell. This burst blood-vessel of B-movie brilliance makes Raimi’s rivals look like the corpse-grinding charlatans they truly are.
Director Sam Raimi returns to his roots, and fans of his controlled style of horror, where less is often more, should be grateful.
Drag Me to Hell isn't a classic by any means, but feels like a palate cleanser before the next big project – and anything that washes the taste of Spider-man 3 out of Raimi's mouth can only be a good thing.
[Sam] Raimi returns to the horror game with a film boasting a satisfying originality -- a device too often missing from the horror-film toolbox -- and wicked, depraved wit.
I really can't recommend it. Despite the fact that I support the idea of comedy horror, I do generally ask that it contain at the very least either comedy or horror.
Cast aside all PG-13 biases folks, you'll be glad to know that even with the rating, "Drag Me to Hell" is one of the finer horror movies released this year...
Things fall apart somewhat in the predictable finale, but Raimi shows he hasn't forgotten how much fun it is to get scared to death.
A gooey, frenetic, raucous and mind-meltingly clever delight. This fabulously compact little morality tale is the most fun you'll ever have analyzing our economic collapse.
Raimi can do more with a set of false teeth and a compelling, if deeply flawed, heroine that most horror hacks can with enough fake blood to flood the Great Basin.
The Rolling Stones album 'Let It Bleed' advised: THIS RECORD SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD. Prints of this film must be stamped with a similar order: Tension is created by ear-smashing NOISE, to create a hell-on-earth feeling of temporary insanity in the viewer.
Latest News for Drag Me To Hell
October 12, 2009:
RT on DVD: Drag Me to Hell and All of Futurama
This week on home video, we've got a couple of big winners (at least, in our book), a couple of overlooked films, some so-so new releases, and a couple of classic favorites... More...
May 31, 2009:
A spine-tingling adventure guaranteed to elicit blood-curdling screams and to make you jump out of your seat when you least expect it. ![]()
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May 28, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Up And Drag Me to Hell Are Certified Fresh
This week at the movies, we've got a high-flying house (Up, with voice work by Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer) and a demonic curse (Drag Me to Hell, starring Alison Lohman and... More...
May 28, 2009:
Favorite Films with Drag Me to Hell's Sam Raimi
This Friday, Raimi steps out of the Marvel trenches and returns to horror with Drag Me to Hell, which stars Alison Lohman as a meek loan officer whose comfortable life gets... More...
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