I wanted to like it & I did but I just wanted more.

Rating: 6/10 (1 December 2009)

Drag Me to Hell starts as bank loan arranger Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is begged by an old gypsy woman Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver) who is in arrears with her mortgage repayments to extend her loan again, with a vacant assistant manager's position up for grabs Christine does the the thing that will earn the bank money & refuses. Later that night Allison is attacked by the old woman & a curse is placed upon her in which after three days of supernatural torment a demon called Lamia will literally drag the cursed person to hell where they shall remain for all eternity. Allison suffers from horrible visions & nightmares as Lamia torments her in preparation for the third day when Allison will be dragged to hell. Can psychic Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) help to rid Allison of the ancient curse or will Lamia claim yet another victim...
Co-written, produced & directed by Sam Raimi this was supposed to be his big return to the horror genre after his mega hit Spider-Man films he wrote the script after he made Army of Darkness (1992) but didn't get to make it until some sixteen years later, a return to his roots where he began with The Evil Dead trilogy & while I did like Drag Me to Hell I was somewhat disappointed with it as well. The script tries to mimic & mix the crazy anything goes horror & outrageousness of The Evil Dead with the toned down respectability of a Hollywood teen friendly PG effort that feels a little neutered. There's some crazy set-pieces that have a certain bizarreness about them, in particular the fight between the old woman & Allison where the old woman's false teeth get knocked out & her eye is stapled shut which I assume is meant to be funny but just isn't. There's some good horror moments too like a nice jump scare moment when the old lady is in bed next to Allison & vomits a load of maggots & bugs over her face & then there's scenes which try to mix comedy & horror like when Allison drops an anvil on the old ladies head & her eyeballs shoot out in a surreal moment (why is an anvil hanging up bu a length of rope in your shed?). The curse aspect of the story is quite thin & there's not much to it, we never really see Lamia in it's true form & there's very little background given to the curse itself. The character's are OK with Allison a likable lead & the film does entertain although I just think it lacks a little cohesion & there aren't enough 'moments' in it plus it's too tame.
I could definitely see how Drag Me to Hell could split an audience, it may not appeal to all but I think most would enjoy it on some level. There's some light comedic stuff, some proper horror & one or two jumpy moments & a little outlandishness thrown in there too, I mean there's even a talking goat here at one point. The gore level is very disappointing here, I saw the 'Extended Edition' on Blu-ray & there's really not much to speak of besides a bloody nose bleed, a little blood splatter, some flying eyeballs & a few dead bodies. The film has a good pace but it really kicks in when the curse is laid & Lamia haunts & torments Allison for a few days before running out of steam a bit at the end. There's one very silly moment in which a possessed handkerchief attacks Allison & she fights with it, to say it looks ridiculous is not needed & handkerchief's are not scary or threatening either.
With a supposed budget of about $30,000,000 this wasn't mega budget but it wasn't exactly low budget either, it got a lukewarm reception at the box-office although I am sure it did make a small profit. Filmed in Los Angeles in California. The acting is alright with likable leads although no big stars.
Drag Me to Hell is a fun enough return to the horror genre for Raimi but I was expecting a little bit more, a bit more gore & a bit more genuine black humour. I liked it but I didn't love it, having said that it's still one of the better recent Hollywood horror flicks.