"Return"? Who's to say Raimi ever really "left"?

Rating: 8/10 (31 May 2009)

To get it out of the way, most people writing or talking about Drag Me to Hell are saying that "Raimi's returned" or "he's come back finally!" There is an underlying current here to say that he "lost" it somehow, in terms of being a talented director. Maybe it's jet-lag from being on a binge of several years of Spider-Man (and the, politely saying it, mixed reaction to Spider-Man 3) that maybe one wondered if he would return to his horror "roots" as he hadn't made one since The Gift and not one that really stuck out in the 15 years since Army of Darkness. But he's always had the goods, even through the Spider-Man movies (and yes, even through most of part 3 I would argue), and what Drag Me to Hell represents not so much a return but a revival, akin perhaps to the Coen brothers, Raimi's old buddies, going back to basics with No Country for Old Men. Suffice to say, this is more than comfortable territory for Raimi: Drag Me to Hell is a reminder of what he's good at, which is not simply horror, but scaring the s*** out of you while making you laugh your head off.
This wont be for all horror fans, perhaps, such as those who scamper off to the "safe" fare like Haunting in Connecticut or the super trash like My Bloody Valentine 3D. This is PG-13, but in a way that doesn't mean Raimi or his brother co-writer Ivan are playing it any safer than Evil Dead 2. Their story of Christine Brown (gorgeous and talented Alison Lohman) turning down an old gypsy for an extension on her mortgage and thus being branded with a three-day-ticket-till-hell curse, is the stuff of pulpy EC comic books, with a touch of satire (did anyone else think of the current mortgage crisis when watching this) in the stew of over-the-top gags in true horror set-ups. Sure, there may be a few "JUMP" scares, and sure a couple of story turns may not be logical (I had a problem with Justin Long, playing the psychology professor boyfriend of Christine's, doing something at about 2/3 of the way through the movie that didn't make much sense in terms of know-how), but it there's rarely a scene without some wallop of entertainment.
And like the Evil Dead films, when they were at their best, Drag Me to Hell confronts its protagonist with an onslaught of "holy-crap-what-was-that" things, such as an incredible (and I do mean incredible) nosebleed, the old gypsy popping up in a shed where an anvil is hanging conveniently overhead, the goat used for a sacrifice that suddenly turns possessed during a ritual, or just certain things like the recurring fly or (gulp) the bleeding eyeball in the middle of a piece of "Harvest cake" which Christine has prepared. And like a former bewildered but strong hero like Ash, Christine toughens up soon and fast enough to do some unthinkable but hilariously tasteless things (i.e. poor kitty - and the kitty's return, ho-ho). And, not the least, after her roller-coaster of a horror-comic endeavor has supposed to come to a close, nothing is really, truly over.
Drag Me to Hell is a rollicking good horror movie, and for the certain moviegoer with as many laughs as another not-quite-comedy movie playing right now, Pixar's Up. For fans of the people involved, or just looking for a few jolt-out-of-your-seat scares and bat-s*** crazy sequences, this is your current if imperfect fix you're jonesing for.