Off The Wall

Rating: 8/10 (2 October 2009)

If you're anything like me, then you remember the good old days of Betamax. If you're quite like me, then you knew of an old video rental place that would hire 'video nasties'. If you're just like me, the first one you got your hands on was The Evil Dead.
It was the stuff of legend - the horror movie that most parents wouldn't let their teenage kids watch - under NO circumstances. Perhaps it was the demonic voices. Perhaps it was the pencil scene. Perhaps it was 'that scene' involving the tree. Who knows. Nonetheless, we got to watch it anyhow - and boy did we rave on about it when we did.
Some 28 years on (yes, I know) and it is still considered (and rightly so) as one of the best horror flicks the world has ever seen. Then there was Evil Dead II, which was just as good but with a little more humour, then Evil Dead III which was just as good again - but this time completely off the wall.
And I guess you could sum Raimi up like that - a little off the wall. He loves to scare you witless, then make you laugh a little, just before scaring you out of your seat again. So when I heard rumour that he was 'going back to his roots' with Drag Me To Hell, I licked my lips in anticipation. Despite several attempts to watch this in the theatre, I never got the chance. Nonetheless, I have finally managed to watch it on DVD - the question is... what's it like?
Well, fans of the Evil Dead franchise (if there is such a thing) will be squealing with delight over this outing. Imagine that Betamax was still in your living room. Imagine that little video store was still open for business and imagine the guy who works there just hired you a copy. Sit back and prepare to jump more often than a cricket for the next couple of hours.
The look and feel of the movie is very much that of an age gone by - it relies on the simpler vehicles to get what it wants from the viewer, namely misdirection, REALLY loud noises and the now trademark 'Raimi Slant' camera angles to create a feeling of vertigo. There is a nice combination of CGI and prosthetic work here, but sadly no plasticine (if you know, you know).
There is plenty of viscera - be it blood, maggots, bile or other unknown, unearthly liquids - and it makes for a whole lot of fun. The humour that is sadly lacking in some of Raimi's later outings has returned with a vengeance here, he clearly has missed grossing people out and then making them belly laugh right after.
The acting is deliberately confused and dizzy, and the backdrops are straight out of a 50's horror movie - you almost expect Cushing or Karloff to walk out onto set at any moment. The overall feel is that of impending doom at every turn and it doesn't give the viewer a moment's rest from the outset - which is something I have personally missed in horror films of late. Did I mention the soundtrack and effects - sheesh...
And so to the plot. What plot? Who cares! This is a SAM RAIMI movie for goodness sake! Girl gets cursed, chaos and madness ensues... THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW! Yes you'll see the end coming, and yes you've read the script before you've heard it - but I am not rating this movie on it's 'artistic contribution' or 'aesthetics' - I'm rating it on the basis that it really does do what it says on the tin - and that is scare the bejeebus out of you!
So, a final note to all horror fans out there - if you haven't caught a viewing of Drag Me To Hell yet, I advise that you do it - NOW. If you wondered what all the fuss was about with The Evil Dead series, but are a little wet behind the ears - double march to your local store pronto.
And finally to Mr. Raimi (if you're reading) - please, please, PLEASE make more horror flicks and show the pretentious wannabes that claim the throne these days how it's REALLY done.
Enough of my yakking. I rate Drag Me To Hell at 8.1 / 10 - and that is a meaty score for a meaty movie. Awesome stuff!!