DRAG ME TO HELL

If you’re a fan of goopy gross-outs with a side order of goofy giggles, this grade-A B-movie-esque horror offering from director Sam Raimi (returning to his Evil Dead-trilogy roots) will satisfy all your cravings in one wildly entertaining summer movie.

The no-frills plot is pretty simple and straightforward: Christine (Alison Lohman, absent from the big-screen for a couple of years) is a bank loans officer looking to climb the corporate ladder by cultivating her just-say-no approach to default-y applicants. Unfortunately for her, she decides to turn down the financial requests of a scary, haggard gypsy (Lorna Raver in a resplendently revolting role) despite the crusty woman’s pleas for aid. Seriously pissed off, the gypsy retaliates by placing a curse on our hapless heroine: three days of torment before she’ll be (as the title suggests) dragged to Hell. Good times!

Thus sets in motion a grotesque and squeamishly delicious series of events as the curse manifests itself in Christine’s life. With a demon at the controls, assorted bodily fluids go a’flying, things that shouldn’t be spewed from the mouth of any human being are spewed readily (maggots, anyone? no? perhaps some embalming fluid, then?), bad things happen to people and animals, and scares – both cheesy and legit – spring up without rest. All the while, Christine desperately scrambles for a way out of her horrifying plight, with the aid of supporting players Dileep Rao, Adriana Barraza (!) and Justin Long, who co-stars as Christine’s professor beau. 

Buoyed as much by its humor as its frights, Drag Me to Hell is the kind of film that’s fun because of its well-placed cheekiness. In recent years, audiences have become accustomed to a decidedly darker, more sinister kind of horror movie – torture-porn type flicks like the Hostel or Saw series, and American remakes of admittedly superior Japanese offerings (The Grudge, The Eye et al.).  But this outing tips its hat to a more old-school sensibility – or, perhaps, a different kind of audience – by, for lack of a better descriptor, embracing camp alongside the carnage. If you want misogyny and brutal gore, look elsewhere. Otherwise, settle in here.

And, as a final note, the film’s very subtle morality-tale aspect is a welcome, albeit minor, addition to the horror action. Not only Christine’s initial inner conflict between doing what her heart tells her vs. pursuing professional advancement, but her ultimate struggle between taking her lumps or finding a (possibly just as damning) loophole. It just adds another layer to the proceedings, which is always a plus.

All in all, Drag Me to Hell and its squirm-inducing glee make for an ideal roller-coaster ride at the theater. Motion-sickness bag optional.