![]() ![]() This is not horror comedy along the lines of “ Shaun of the Dead” or even the more violent and steadily gruesome “ Slither.” This is genuine horror that somehow manages to trigger the laugh reflex at the exact same moment it's offering up the stuff of nightmares. (I’ve only seen the comically horrific “Evil Dead II,” while moderately soused.) But I will say that this flick brings the fun back into the old fright show and brings to mind a host of low-budget mid-century scare flicks without stinting on the shocks. Being a big old cinema wuss, I can’t be sure. “Drag Me to Hell” is being hailed as a return to “Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi’s roots, along the lines of his “Evil Dead” films. Naturally, poor Christine’s relationship with her understanding psychologist boyfriend (Justin “I'm a Mac” Long, playing straight man for a change) will be somewhat strained as she is subjected to one bizarre supernatural attack after another – including surprise visits in her car, a projectile nosebleed (at least a pint's worth), and the old eyeball-in-the-“Harvest Cake” trick. ![]() It gets worse the woman has very sharp and very ugly dentures, and she's not afraid to use them, right alongside the supernatural abilities available to all Romani movie females over age 60. Ganush (Lorna Raver), easily the least attractive woman of any age in Los Angeles. In this case, a single selfish choice lands loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) in serious danger of eternal damnation after being cursed, Gypsy style, by Mrs. In “Drag Me to Hell,” Raimi and company fashion what is in some respects an only slightly less unjust moral universe, in which the failure to perform a single mitvah (usually translated from Hebrew as a good deed, but in reality it means the act of obeying a commandment) is translated from Jewish recrimination into Catholic punishment of the pre-Vatican II variety. I hadn't even done anything bad enough yet to be grounded. Judaism has no hell other than guilt and death, so learning about the fire, the pitchforks, and the eternal torment – and that millions believed that, by virtue of my non-Christianity, I was going to suffer all of it – was a little traumatic. The demon itself is scary as Hell, but Raimi's way of indicating it, with sharp screeches, is what ruined the movie for me.Eing in the same general ethnic/religious cohort doesn't give me the right to speak for writer-director Sam Raimi and his co-writer brother Ivan, but this Jewish kid was just a little bit traumatized when he first learned about the traditional Christian concept of hell. The séance scene near the end of the film is mostly gold. In fact, I think it might play better on television (it's definitely the kind of movie that I would have caught on late night TV as a kid and loved). Though I generally didn't like it, it's far from a bad film. A goat demon begins to attack Lohman and, well, the rest of its intentions are included in the title of the film. Alison Lohman (awful) plays a loan officer who gets cursed by a gypsy after she turns her down for a loan extension. The story isn't bad, but it's been done before. I was cowering, but only because I was afraid I might not be able to hear in the morning. The formula of the film is this: quiet set-up followed by sharp screech and an even louder BOO! It's the same thing over and over. The problem: horror stings on the soundtrack. I saw Terminator Salvation at the same theater, and was not nearly as deafened as I was by Drag Me to Hell. At least not ones that like to turn the volume up. This is one film I would almost implore people not to see in theaters. Unfortunately, it's also very formulaic and, much of the time, downright obnoxious. ![]() Like the Evil Dead movies, it's delightfully cheesy and relentless. Sam Raimi attempts to return to his B movie roots. A huge disappointment in my eyes, especially after the high praise it has received from critics. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |