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Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Director: Sam Raimi

Time Out rating

Average user rating

37 reviews

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 2009-05-26 10:42:14

Time Out London Issue 2023, May 28 - June 3, 2009

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User reviews of this film

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.

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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!

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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)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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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...

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xXxXxxXxX said...

Posted on Jun 28 2009 13:31 Its is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo SCARYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

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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.

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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.

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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 !

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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.

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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.

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Jodie Horton said...

Posted on Jun 17 2009 15:52 It has been ages since I have seen a film that really freaked me out and made me jump - after seeing this I can safely say that it did!! It was extremely freaky and disturbing (in a good way!!) and a bit sick and twisted (also in a good way!!) There were bits that were predictable, but who cares! It was a good film and kept you on the edge of your seat! I was a little disappointed with the end (sue to it being so predictable) but really the film shouldn't have ended any other way! I would definately go to see this film if you want to be serioulsy freaked out!! Absolutely brilliant! I will never look at a goat the same way again! lol x

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Matt said...

Posted on Jun 16 2009 11:42 You just cannot open a half-serious horror film with a boy being dragged down to Hell in the first five minutes. What were they thinking? This and the style of the opening credits left me wondering for the next quarter of an hour whether this film was going to be a comedy, but hilarity frankly never materialised. There might have been one or two laughs but in essence this is not a funny film. There was the occasional moment of fright and horror, but generally it was more of a slime-fest of yucky maggot-spewing and things in that vein. A limited dose of real horror, an extremely limited dose of comedy, an unambitious dose of more general drama and character exploration - all in all, it really leaves you wondering what the point of this film is supposed to be.
The acting was perfectly reasonable, and most of the dialogue was plausible although at least one of the characters' parts (Stu's) is inconsistently scripted for no particular reason (Stu:- strong/weak) and possibly Shaun San Dena's as well (payment v. personal quest - or was the payment 3rd party fraud?). The [absence of any] reaction among the mourners to what happens at the wake lacks all credibility and anyway what happens there is just ludicrous. Some of the special effects were good, but others (especially involving a particular animal) looked like something out of the 1980s and detracted from rather than adding to the film. The film does have redeeming moments, especially towards the end, and the ending itself is effective, though it is certainly not the one that I would have chosen and the twist is certainly predictable in the sense that I was wondering well in advance whether it was going to materialise. The lead actress is very pretty and her character is, despite her faults, endearing. If you are an immature teenage boy barely old enough to view this film legally, you may enjoy the element of yuck. If not - well, it's touch and go whether I'd recommend watching it for free, but as paid-for entertainment, I'm sorry, there has to be something better. Really, they could have done something much better with this.

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tash and jodiee said...

Posted on Jun 15 2009 10:56 bluddi briliant

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Lisa H said...

Posted on Jun 10 2009 17:32 This film was great! It made me jump in many parts, and I also laughed hysterically at other scenes i.e. when Chris has the fight with the gypsy in the car park. It had a great plot, and many twists. Usually I think cinema tickets are a rip-off, but I didn't mind so much with this movie...I would actually buy the DVD too. Well worth seeing!

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stephen hodges said...

Posted on Jun 10 2009 13:08 well this film will make you jump about every minute and is quite funny also in parts, as for the acting i just wish what happens at the end would happen alot sooner.

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