The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of

So I just finished my screening of Sam Raimi's latest horror flick Drag Me to Hell. Despite the fact that Raimi has spent twenty years out of the horror genre, he hasn't lost his stride. Drag Me to Hell lines up nicely with his other works of horrific genius and is filled with multiple "Evil Dead" moments.

Christine Brown is a soft spoken young woman who works as a loan officer. Her rural upbringing causes her to be insecure at times, but she none the less is a self-motivated go getter that causes the audience to pull for her from start to end.

Christine has a difficult situation. In order for her to receive an important promotion (that she rightly deserves) she is forced to make a difficult decision. Should she grant an old repulsive woman named Mrs. Ganush, an extension on her loan or should she deny the plea and secure her promotion? Staring down the barrel of the decision and glimpsing ever so quickly to the empty chair she wishes to occupy, Christine makes up her mind nice and pretty and denies the old woman an extension.

This decision would have been all well and dandy if not for the fact that Mrs. Ganush is an evil vindictive freaking gypsy! Mrs. Ganush, in one of the most comical horror sequences since Army of Darkness, places a heavy curse upon Ms. Brown's head, a curse that turns the next three days of Christine's life into a living hell. An evil bounty has been placed upon the head of Christine Brown and the Lamia is coming to collect.

DMtH is filled with enough gross out antics and one liners to feel like classic Raimi, but is also balanced out with enough frightening moments to please even the most casual of horror fans. Whereas the film may be only rated Pg-13, this isn't one you'll want to let younger audiences watch. The depiction of unnamed characters being torn through the floor was slightly frightening even to me which may be due to my beliefs, but none the less DMtH isn't the sort of movie that should be viewed by anyone under the age of 13.

Being a fan of good horror and a big fan of Sam Raimi (and Bruce Campbell) I give this film a solid 8/10. The plot is original and strong enough to hold an audience and is precariously intriguing and well paced from start to finish. The cinematography and special effects weren't stunning but were believable.

Raimi is back with a vengeance and it would be a disservice of me to this film and to it's author(s) if I were to not recommend you watch it as soon as possible. Be wary, however, ye who enter here and abandon all hope for where it may have it's moments of lightheartedness in its own right, Drag Me to Hell is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

-scritch out