Drag Me To Hell

Very few directors have enough pull without the assistance of visually recognizable actors. It's a special field unto itself that Raimi has had the pleasure of inhabiting solely on B levels due to his popular Evil Dead trilogy. It wasn't until his successful take on the Spider-Man franchise that Raimi stepped up to the A circuit. At that, Drag Me To Hell is Raimi's first stab at using his moniker as the main selling point. But it's also his first horror flick in years and asks a lot from a simple plot. For the most part, Drag Me To Hell lives up to its Raimi pedigree, but just barely. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is vying for a promotion at her bank job. Striving to make the "tough choices," she refuses an extension to elderly gypsy Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver), who curses her. Over the next three days, Satan sullies forth from hell to drag Brown down. Naturally, she tries everything to lift the curse. Scares, startles and creep-outs ensue. It makes for a decent film but in many ways Raimi has forgotten the innovative spirit that initially made him great. Drag Me To Hell feels like he's reliving some favourites from his personal trick bag, which he hasn't been able to use on the blockbuster flicks: ridiculous possessed animals, fast-zooming shots, pinpointing sound effects; it's as if he grabbed every cool visual/sound idea from Evil Dead II and hung them on a so-so plot. Factor in some pretty crappy CGI where physical effects would have ruled and this film is passable but won't reach the legendary status of his early horror work. As for the sole extra ― a half-hour production video detailing the usual behind-the-scenes business of special effects and stunts ― it's interesting on a modest level. Not even a commentary track? Moreover, the selling point of selecting between an unrated and theatrical cut seems pointless. If there were any alterations between the two they're so miniscule they're missed entirely. Who would have thought being dragged to hell could be such an unmemorable experience?