Drag Me to Hell

We're now living in a world economy that was severely damaged by institutions that in their greed, gave out loans to people who just weren't qualified. In Drag Me to Hell, Christine Brown, played by Alison Lohman, gets in some serious trouble for refusing to give out such a loan to a pathetic old lady, and as a result the bank forecloses on the poor woman's home. Too bad that the person she refused is good friends with the devil. In Drag Me to Hell, Sam Raimi leaves Spiderman behind, at least until the next inevitable installment, and returns to his horror roots, and quite successfully at that. After Christine refuses the loan, she is first attacked and then cursed by the old lady. She then visits a fortune teller who tells her that she will be tormented for three days, and then be sent to hell as the result of the curse. Not one to take this lying down, she elicits the fortune teller's help in trying to remove the curse, and too bad for her pet cat I might add. The film was quite entertaining and works as both a genre film, and as something that could appeal to people who usually don't attend this type of thing, if they just gave it a chance. It's not just blood and guts, as this film contains a good story, has some great set pieces, and contains some humor to boot. In addition to Ms. Lohman, who gives a fine performance, Justin Long has the thankless role of the doubting, but well meaning boyfriend, and he does fine with it. Lorna Raver plays the wicked old lady, and she's as disgusting as she is scary. When she takes out her dripping teeth at Christine's desk I actually had to stop eating my Raisinettes, for a few seconds. In spite of the PG-13 rating the film packs in about as much gore as is necessary, although my one complaint is that it gets a little loud during some of the more dramatic parts. One scene actually hurt a little. No need to hit the audience over its head. If you're a fan of this genre you'll likely see it, and if not, well, don't wait for someone to drag you to the theater.

Rating - 3 Stars