‘Drag Me to Hell’ Isn’t Bad for a Bad Movie
-----With Director Sam Raimi’s return to the genre that made him famous, many have gloated over his craft. The title was oddly humorous, and I went into the theater expecting a thrill-ride. Unfortunately, what I got was a typical horror movie. And while ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is considerably better than most modern horror movies, that’s like saying getting stabbed is better than getting shot.
-----Christine is an unsuspecting loan officer who makes the mistake of evicting a gypsy of sorts from her home. The evil woman then curses her, making her life, and final destination, hell.
-----Alison Lohman plays the female lead, Christine Brown. While she does manage to do an adequate job, I found myself conflicted between rooting for her and not knowing what to think of her. In a film that requires you to connect with the lead, I just don’t think she makes the cut. Justin Long plays her unrelentingly supportive boyfriend, Clay Dalton, in a one-note side role that gets a few laughs, but works more as a prop piece than a valuable edition to the cast. I’m a fan of Long’s, so I was disappointed to see him playing a character so simple in motive, with too little screen time or development to do anything more than be a likable character. Dileep Rao plays the fortune-teller Rham Jas. Rao seems to get more support from the audience as a likable role-player than Lohman as the star. He feels authentic, and remains entertaining and intriguing throughout the film. Rounding out the primary cast is Lorna Raver as the disgusting and malevolent Mrs. Ganush. The makeup department and effects crew get points for making sure every time her face was suddenly thrown on screen (approximately 20 occurrences), it was nasty and shocking.
-----After the three ‘Spider-Man’ films, Raimi was obviously excited to be back doing horror films. Unfortunately, however, ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is an homage to a genre I very much dislike. Regardless, it is occasionally inspiring, and one of the better horror thrillers I’ve seen recently. Then again, that’s not saying much seeing as I find most modern horror movies to be worthless. And ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is nothing special when you consider the thousands of better films you could be watching.
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-----I’ll start with the positives. Perhaps the greatest strength of ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is the fact that it knows what it is. It’s not afraid to have a laugh here and there, and definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously. It even shamelessly follows some of the ridiculous horror clichés, for better or worse. It goes so far as to risk spoofing itself in the occasional scene. Both wild and uncontrolled, Raimi has made a film he would surely love, and many die-hard fans of the B-List horror genre, and Raimi’s earlier work, will no doubt be pleased. Also working for it is its effective use of the PG-13 rating. This takes out the stupidity that most modern horror flicks are run on, gore and nudity. There are no body parts showing, or getting cut off unnecessarily, and the horror and grit doesn’t suffer a bit for it.
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-----Now that you’ve heard what I liked, it’s time to start down the much longer list of what I didn’t care for. The film, while well-executed, follows the horror formula to the last detail. You see, there are two options in the modern horror movie. Either one, everybody dies; or two, the protagonists apparently win, only to be followed up by an ending “twist” in which case they’ll still end up dead, their horrors only temporarily defeated. The real surprise in a modern horror film would be a happy ending. I would sit there waiting for the cliché “twist” in the last scene, only to find there would be none. The heroes live happily ever after?! Now there’s a shocking ending that would shake the genre to its core. Formulaic construct aside, the film is never truly scary. Raimi definitely gets you to jump a number of times, but this is a quickly fleeting scare, and the audience certainly won’t lose any sleep over it. One could argue that this is merely a type of horror film which relies more on being a thriller than genuinely scary, but again, that is hardly the only problem. Perhaps the film’s biggest shortcoming is in its odd and consistent perversion of its protagonist’s mouth. Star Alison Lohman has so much shoved down her throat throughout the film you’d think she was a porn star. Whether it’s spit, teeth, bugs; the assault is unrelenting. And while the mouth is a disgusting area for gross-out horror, by the fifth time, we get it.
-----Technically, Raimi goes old-school, prior to his ‘Spider-Man’ days. He uses a good amount of green liquid, rattling window-sills, and wires for suspension of airborne characters (most of which are possessed). This actually gives the film a refreshing, if ultimately repetitive look. The cinematography is also one of the better elements of the film, using fast shots to scare the audience, which leads me to the musical score. Loud in doses, the score perfectly supports the quick flashes of terror, and Raimi even plays with the classic, calm-before-the-storm sequences that tell the audience something startling should strike any second now.
-----In the long run, there are many quality elements about ‘Drag Me to Hell’ that easily raise it above the average horror flick. The problem is, as I have stated repeatedly, that the competition is absolutely dreadful, so this is not an amazing feat. While fans of the genre may enjoy it, I can’t find it in me to give a recommendation to the general public, or anyone for that matter. As a film that’s sole purpose is to keep the audience excited for 99 minutes, ‘Drag Me to Hell’ just doesn’t deliver. There are inspired moments here and there, and a fight scene early on that’s especially entertaining, but the fun quickly becomes repetitive to the point of near-predictability. People looking for an all-out adrenaline rush will be disappointed with the final product, and the humor only found its mark occasionally. I just couldn’t connect with the leads or even rally for their cause; and that is the cardinal sin for a movie that relies on audience involvement. As for Raimi, while it is good to see him return to his roots and take a break from the big budget event movie, I eagerly await his next ‘Spider-Man’ film. As for the film itself, it’s agreeably some of the more energetic work its tired genre has hacked out in a while, but there are just too many superior films out there to constitute spending your time and money on ‘Drag Me to Hell.'
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