A solid return to Horror for Raimi, twisted, gory with a great story!

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2009)

Director Sam Raimi comes back to horror and makes a terrifically creepy and gory horror fest that truly captures the essence of the 70's horror exploitation films. The story is really solid and the performances of the cast make it a really worthwhile horror. The creepy story combines the best of cheap thrills, over the top gore, and eerie supernaturalism to create a terrific scare but also to solidly entertain. I expected the film to perhaps be a little bit campy in the same way as Evil Dead, Raimi's original horror camp masterpiece but in actuality Drag Me To Hell was far more real and grounded and actually a serious piece of horror. The whole concept of the movie is to make you squirm and there is plenty of that from old lady/zombie mucus to a demon possessed sheep which is downright hilarious in a sick and twisted way. Really strong characters and great chemistry make the film even better and above your average horror film and that genre has been lack luster as of late. I felt like the twist at the end was a little bit predictable and at the same time contradicted the strength of the lead character but nonetheless it still holds together.
Alison Lohman returns to the big screen after quite an absence. I always thought Lohman had a big career ahead of her although she hasn't had a break out role really. Still she has always looked very young but had some very mature roles. In this role she really shows off some chops for being a strong willed, really respectable female. She is a great lead!! Justin Long plays her devoted boyfriend. He kind of takes a back seat to her despite kind of being the bigger star but he does well in either spot and they have great chemistry together. They are very believable and he does great in a serious role. It took me back to his terrific break out role in Jeepers Creepers. Lorna Raver is downright disturbed and twisted as evil Gypsy Sylvia Ganush. Her and Lohman play off each other terrifically in their first scenes together. She makes a great horror bad gal. Dileep Rao plays a small but important and well played role as a small shop psychic who agrees to help Lohman's character. I think I would have really liked to have seen him have a bigger role more like a "Dr. Loomis" (Halloween reference) type character. If the film is serialized he should definitely return.
This is one of those instances where the cast just really works so well together and the story and all the other pieces that make a solid movie. Of course Drag Me To Hell isn't going to win any accolades with critics or likely win any awards at all and yet it is completely entertaining and worth seeing for anyone who is a fan of the genre or wants to be thrilled and scared all at once. It's the perfect camp fire story with a Stephen King twist to it. Everyone loves a good twisted Gypsy story. Definitely check this one out because you will love it for it's genre inducing fun! 8/10