Warning...mild spoilers.So I almost sat my ass down last night and typed up a review of Drag Me to Hell right after I watched it. Unfortunately my computer chair was pirated by my both my husband's best friend and my cat on two separate occasions so it had to wait until today.
So I'll admit it. I am pissed off that I did not go see this movie in the theater. I figured that most of what I was reading was hype so I was expecting this to be fun but not great. No great loss missing it theatrically. WRONG! This was hands down the best horror movie I've seen this year. Seriously. And perhaps I am about to wave my chicken shit flag really high right now but Drag Me to Hell genuinely scared me! Out of all the movies that could scare me, this one did it. Oh it made me laugh too but seriously...SERIOUSLY!!
I'm almost ashamed to admit that.
I'm almost ashamed to admit that.
But obviously not that ashamed.
In a a nutshell: Drag Me to Hell is about a loan officer Christine, who is probably the nicest woman to walk the planet, who denies an old woman an extension on her home loan. Unfortunately this old lady is a Gypsy who apparently has friends in low places and puts a curse on Christine to be dragged to Hell by the demon Lamina...hence the title of the film. Awesome Sam Raimi antics and some really scary moments ensue!
This movie really got under my skin. REALLY (Imagine my surprise when I found out it was rated PG-13...though I did watch the unrated version). I work in customer service and I'm always on edge waiting for that OH so special person to come in and make my life a living Hell. There have been times when I'm called every name in the book for just doing my job. This movie was my worst nightmare. Now I won't defend Christine's choice in denying the gypsy woman her loan. Morally, doing everything she could to help the lady was the right choice. But unfortunately Christine was having a rough day and appeared to be quite the door mat. And she picked the wrong day to assert herself.
Story wise its pretty basic but what I loved was how Christine was established to be the nicest woman you could meet. This made her plight to save her soul even more agonizing to watch. And watching her cling to that humanity inside her while the demon rains its terror down was fascinating. Alison Lohman created a great character arc going from meek doormat to assertive bitch the worse her situation got. It was touching, heartbreaking, and hilarious.
But this didn't mean that the film was all serious. The movie was laced with signature Sam Raimi gore and gags which had me both jumping and screaming. It was very reminiscent of Evil Dead 2 but walked a more refined line of terror and gags without getting full out goofy and campy...too often. Also, any movie with a cackling evil goat is cinema gold for me. The gore was also very effective, creative, and CLOWNISH! WOO! And while I did see the end coming, it filled me with so much suspense and dread that I watched it with my jaw hanging open. The film remained dark but never overly so which worked. Sometimes films can get so bleak that you wonder "why am I watching this? Its hopeless!" Not this one. I kept second guessing myself and despite what my gut told me, I was still stunned to watch it all happen.
I absolutely loved this movie. Yes it freaked me out. Yes I had nightmares about being cursed (Only in my dreams the gypsy cursed me to live in the Alaskan tundra with no TV or Internet for the rest of my days). But I was blown away by this film. This ranks in my top films of the year and I am going to run out and buy it on bluray as soon as the paycheck comes rolling in.
So my recommendation? See this immediately! I don't endorse blind buying movies at all but this one would be worth it!
