Sam Raimi Back to the Basics

Rating: 6/10 (30 May 2009)

Christine Brown is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton. Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks, and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home. In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell.
Director Sam Raimi returns to the horror genre in which he was known famous for. Like the previous "Evil Dead" films, DMTH is not a serious horror film. One can tell from Universal's very old logo during the first few seconds of the film that it's going to be a B-movie. While it does have its scary scenes, there is a nice balance of horror and comedy here. This is a breath of fresh air, considering many horror movies these days take themselves too seriously that they get laughed for the wrong reasons or that they try to be funny but fail miserably and get laughed for the wrong reasons. Either way, they both get laughed at for the wrong reasons.
If you're jumping out of your skins in the first five minutes of the film, you'll know you're in for a ride. What makes the suspense, scares, and tension in here so effective, as opposed to other horror film, is the use of noise and sound effects. Raimi uses everyday household sound effects to scare us, and they actually work! And yes, this film is scary. The make-up for Mrs. Ganush is very creepy. The score by Christopher Young is also really refreshing, because it's quite original.
For the humorous side of the film, it's really a horror-comedy. The gross-out visuals are disgusting, but you laugh at them anyway because of how outrageous and exaggerated they are. Actually, the whole flick is kind of outrageous, isn't it? This is what makes the film very fun to watch. You jump out of your seat but you laugh it off. This film really does bring the audience in for the ride. For example, there is one scene in which a fly flies to the camera screen, breaking the fourth wall.
The performance by Alison Lohman is really fun to watch. You see her character change from someone innocent to...well, you'll see. Justin Long does decently for what he's given, although it's not that much. Lorna Raver steals the show playing the devilish Mrs. Ganush. However, saying all of this, I can't help but say that I was a bit disappointed in the film overall. Some of the jokes in here are really random and bland. Some of the pop up scenes do get tiring after awhile. Overall, it's a pretty good horror-comedy. The film promises scares and laughs and that's what it gives.