Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageDrag Me to Hell (2009)
Director: Sam Raimi
Synopsis
An ambitious loans officer divests an elderly lady of her property and ends up cursed by the now homeless old sorceress. A seer is contacted to help reverse the spell, but things spiral out of control.
Movie review
From Time Out London
A gross-out fright movie that is, in the director’s own words, ‘more like a funhouse ride than a bloodbath’, ‘Drag Me to Hell’ takes Sam Raimi back to his B-movie roots, fusing the scary intensity of ‘The Evil Dead’ with the cartoonish, slapstick humour of ‘Evil Dead II’. Originally conceived as a short story way back in 1990, ‘Drag Me to Hell’ has had a long and strange gestation, which might explain its repeated references to ‘There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly’.Inside a mock-gothic pile, all hell breaks loose as female medium Shaun San Dena (Adriana Barraza) struggles to save a young boy from the malevolent force unleashed by a gypsy’s curse. This brilliantly staged prologue seems to herald the Second Coming of Sam Raimi, but the film as a whole never quite lives up to its throat-grabbing opening.
With one eye on the vacant assistant manager’s job, ambitious loans officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) refuses to extend the mortgage of an old gypsy lady, Mrs Ganush (Lorna Raver). Christine blames her boss (David Paymer), but the gimlet-eyed crazy lady sees all. Shamed by having to beg on bended knee, Mrs Ganush fixes Christine with her beady peeper and warns: ‘Soon it will be you who comes begging to me.’ The slighted woman’s campaign of terror involves the projectile vomiting of blood, maggots and green slime, a slice of cake with a swivelling eyeball implanted in it and the summoning of a black goat.
A late replacement for ‘Juno’ star Ellen Page, the sparky Lohman seizes the lead role with both hands and confidently makes it her own. As does the aptly named Raver, whose vengeance starts with cackling laughter, then spirals upwards into imaginative spitefulness. The flashy pyrotechnics make up for a plot that is riddled with holes, and there is a wickedly funny gag about the possibility of ameliorative kitten-sacrifice. But the crude ‘eye for an eye’ morality recalls an average EC Comics story, and you don’t need a crystal ball to predict the wicked twist in the tale.
Author: Nigel Floyd
Time Out London Issue 2023, May 28 - June 3, 2009
User reviews of this film
-
- Em x said...
- Posted on Feb 09 2010 14:05 very hilarious through out. I pratically liked it as the old womans face kept making me howl :)
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Em x said...
- Posted on Feb 09 2010 14:05 very hilarious through out. I pratically liked it as the old womans face kept making me howl :)
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Em x said...
- Posted on Feb 09 2010 14:05 very hilarious through out. I pratically liked it as the old womans face kept making me howl :)
- Report as inappropriate
-
- natalie said...
- Posted on Feb 08 2010 19:09 We rented this out to watch a scary film, and what we found scary was the bad acting, and the fact it was amusing. What sort of demon irish dances??
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Ryan said...
- Posted on Dec 20 2009 23:10 I will admit this movie did make me jump occasionally. But as it was described as the "scariest movie of the decade" of course I was disappointed when I watched 95 minutes of poor humour and a one eyed pensioner jumping out at you. In my opinion it was almost as bad as the Child's Play series. I loved the idea of the movie, but this was just wasted potential. I rate this movie one star as even though it was very boring and poor, I did enjoy the fight scene in the car park.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Dear God said...
- Posted on Jul 22 2009 17:02 I didn't realise TImeout readers had turned into a bunch of illiterate fools. "It waz gud coz i tipe BIG Letters" Anyway not a bad film. If you like a bit of fun and you like Horror and not snuff films like Saw etc then you'll probably like this.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Thomas Noctor said...
- Posted on Jul 18 2009 13:10 Without a doubt one of the worst comedy horrors I've ever seen. When the demon did an Irish dance towards the end, I almost walked out. I read that this was the scariest filmin a decade- the only thing horrifying was that I paid into the worst cinema experience since Epic Movie. If ypur a horror fan avoid this crap at all costs. Plus its extremly boring. An insult to the Evil Dead films. RUBBISH!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- sex boy lookin for a girl said...
- Posted on Jul 05 2009 09:27 i think it wuz a absalute brilliant film but a bit much SCARY so watch out if u eva watch the movie but u xx alwayz have to be a certain age to watch these kind of filmz plus it haz a good sense of humour (plaese go onto my profile n add me to ur hotmail address book so we can chat if ur a girl single n really cute n really really sexy)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Sam said...
- Posted on Jun 29 2009 16:13 This film is a jumpy one, and the only good scene is the talking goat... it was THE worst movie I've seen, a complete waste of money, I'll give it 2 stars for atleast trying...
- Report as inappropriate
-
- xXxXxxXxX said...
- Posted on Jun 28 2009 13:31 Its is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo SCARYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
- Report as inappropriate
-
- critique said...
- Posted on Jun 28 2009 11:50 Refreshingly entertaining "jump"-fest which has its tongue firmly lodged in its unpretentious cheek. Highly recommended.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Nicola said...
- Posted on Jun 24 2009 21:56 I Thought This Movie Was Rubbish. It Wasnt Scary What So Ever Maybe If You Think Jumpy Movies Are Scary Then You Like It But Thats All It Was Jump After Jump It Got Pretty Boring. And The Storyline Was Pretty Pradictable.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- catherine said...
- Posted on Jun 24 2009 11:49 The Film Was Pathetic! It Was So Far Fetched And Not Believable At All, I Think Horrors Are Scary When You Believe This Could Accually Happen To Someone, Nothing That Happened In This Film Was Believable It Wasn't Scary Or Funny? I Was Very Disapointed As It Sounded Quiet Good. It Was Vile At Points Such As When The Gypseys Eye Ball Pops It, It Was More Gorry Than Scary, I Honestly Wound Not Recommend This Film To Anyone !
- Report as inappropriate
-
- DV said...
- Posted on Jun 19 2009 19:41 Entertaining, pretty tense and gross. I like a horror film to make me laugh in revulsion. Mission accomplished.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Chris said...
- Posted on Jun 17 2009 18:07 This was a fun film to watch, good music and had a good B-Movie quality to it.. Funny more than scary, i liked it.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza full cast
Genre(s): Horror
Rated: 15
Duration: 99 mins
UK Release: May 29 2009
US Release: May 29 2009
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now