Sam Raimi makes a triumphant return to the horror genre

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2009)

After spending the bulk of the decade making one overblown "Spiderman" movie after another, Sam Raimi finally returns to the horror genre where he got his start. Thankfully, the long wait was worth it, for Raimi brings back the same sense of gleefully ghoulish fun and wickedly dark gallows humor that distinguished the "Evil Dead" pictures. Sweet, but eager and ambitious bank loan officer Christine Brown (a fine and sympathetic performance by the adorable Alison Lohman) refuses to help out elderly gypsy woman Ms. Ganush (a marvelously grotesque portrayal by Lorna Raver) by granting her an extension on her home. Ms. Ganush, angry and humiliated, puts a curse on Christine: A powerful spirit will claim her soul after tormenting her for three days. Can Christine find a way to break the curse in time? Of course, the plot is admittedly pretty silly (the stuff with the pesky possessed handkerchief in particular is positively sidesplitting!), but luckily Raimi has an absolutely field day piling on the deliciously disgusting gross-out moments with infectiously giddy aplomb (revolting highlights include a fly going up Christine's nose, Christine suffering a severe nosebleed at work, Ms. Ganush's corpse spilling embalming fluid into Christine's mouth, and a possessed man vomiting up the corpse of a slain kitten). The PG-13 rating is pushed as far as it can go, with a pleasing amount of unapologetic in-your-face ickiness compensating for the lack of hardcore graphic gore. Better still, the cast play their parts with admirable sincerity: Lohman makes for a fetching and appealing lead, Raver is impressive as one extremely creepy and nasty hag who still elicits some pity because she's a victim of ill health and poverty, Justin Long contributes an engaging turn as Christine's loyal and concerned college professor boyfriend Clay Dalton, and Dileep Rao shines as helpful spiritual expert Rham Jas. Christopher Young provides an appropriately roaring and dynamic score while Peter Demming's polished cinematography boasts lots of wild angles and hyper-kinetic camera movements. The special effects are very effective and outlandish. The startling downbeat ending packs one hell of a punch to the gut. Okay, we're not exactly talking all-time classic here, but boy does this entertainingly over-the-top hoot deliver the blithely grody goods all the same.