Raimi's return to horror

Rating: 7/10 (11 June 2010)

Sam Raimi is known as one of the best horror directors around in recent years: but he had left the genre to do some small projects like the Spider-man trilogy. He returns with a story idea that he wrote with his brother wrote 10 years before filming it. He also set out to get his production company Ghost House back on track after a very unsuccessful run.
Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) was a young woman and loans officer at a local branch of a bank. She has a simple ambition to become the assistant manager but has to compete with the new employee Stu (Reggie Lee). She is a kind-hearted woman, in a long term relationship with Clay (Justin Long), a psychology lecturer at a local university. Christine is told to make some touch decisions if she wants to get the job. She refuses to give an old woman, Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver) an extension on her loan: a decision she regards because Ganush places a curse on the young woman. Christine ends up being haunted by a demon and she has only three days to save her soul from being taken to hell for all eternity. With the help of Clay and an Indian psychic, Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) Christine does everything she can to break the curse.
With the horror genre you get a number of different types: serious like Let the Right One In, 28 Days Later, the Exorcist; slashers, e.g. Halloween, Friday the 13th; gorno like Hostel, Saw; comedy, e.g. Shaun of the Dead. And of course you can also sub-divide into types like Supernatural, monster-based, psychological, realistic, etc With the best horror films there is often deeper message behind the story and often focuses on great characters. Raimi obviously knows about putting a compelling protagonist in his film and the audience will care about Christine, a decent person who ends up having to explore her dark side so that she can save her soul. Christine extremely well played by Lohman who shows she is a competent actress, playing the lost young woman who has to toughen up quickly. She is joined by a decent cast, Rao and Raver were of particular note. Raimi did not set out to make the film too serious. There is not much of message except showing someone's dark survival instincts, but trying to retains some good and don't upset gypsies. Does not treat the film too seriously with violence moments of slapstick, like Christine using a stapler as a weapon and dropping a anvil on top of Ganush with the eyes popping out like in a cartoon. Raimi deliberately makes Ganush an over the top stereotype and very entertaining, you would have to be of a very sensitive disposition to be offended. Also, there is nothing funny and more surreal then a talking goat.
Raimi also knows how to create an effective creepy atmosphere, using shadows to show demon was very well done. With his experience with Spider-man Raimi uses a lot of CGI in the film. Admittedly I am a traditionalist, CGI should only be used when there is no other alternative: but Raimi is skilled to make keep the film engaging and it allows him to use to do some extraordinary things. Raimi also mixed slapstick level violence and some gross out with more realistic style which at times effective, other times, not so fitting. Raimi was even able to fit in a few one liners, particularly with Christine nearing the end of the film. Raimi also shows his skill with a few clever camera and editing tricks, like when Christine was in a rainstorm and it turns into her being in the shower, which were nice touches.
Plot wises the film was a little like Paranormal Activity: but it was a lot better then that poor excuse for a film. The main reason being that there was a real threat to the main character of the film to make you actually care about her and the events of the film. The demon was actually a creepy being, not a minor nuisance.
Raimi shows that a horror film can be violence but does not have to be meaningless or violent just for the sake of it. Raimi gets the balance just right and the body court is surprising low in this film.
But whilst Drag Me to Hell is a good film this is really a film for fans of the horror genre. Outsiders properly won't be won over.