Relentless, mean, chilling and uniquely humorous - a welcome rekindling of roots for Raimi

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2009)

Once upon a time, long before the days of web swinging blockbusters, Sam Raimi made horror movies. Ridiculous, demented, technologically inventive and grotesquely comical horror movies of a kind never quite seen before, to be exact. Of course, as with most independent voices forced to appease mainstream audiences, while he managed to smuggle in many trademark quirky touches into the Spider-Man franchise (the ludicrously out of place Saturday Night Fever dance in the third, for starters...) he is now renowned for, many fans of his earlier, nastier films felt that Raimi's madcap genius had been somewhat quenched with his melding to the mainstream. As such, it would be difficult to envision a more conscious return to his wacky horror roots than Drag Me to Hell. While it may contain a larger budget, slightly more familiar material and less stop motion than his cult classic credentials, Raimi's latest is the sort of kinetic, freewheeling, relentless bludgeoning of horror with just enough quirky laughs thrown in which previously made his name infamous and celebrated.
Avid enthusiasts of Raimi's previous gross-out fare may be either disappointed or elated to find his latest more along the lines of the first Evil Dead, a more straightforward, traditional horror film, then the inventive madness of the second. Yet this is not to say the film is not inventive or madness - far from it. In fact, like most contemporaries, in many cases the film appears structured primarily for the sake of stringing together memorably terrifying set pieces, and painfully amplifying the tension in between them, as well as satisfying Raimi's seemingly unquenchable desire for endlessly tormenting his protagonist, as much as progressing the narrative. But, at the risk of over-glorifying its director, moments which might have reeked of convention in the hands of another filmmaker become uniquely effective in the hands of Raimi, who utilises Christopher Young's vastly over the top musical score to add a demented yet supremely effective veneer to traditional "what's behind the door?" style frights. Of course, a Raimi film would hardly be recognisable without the quirky factor, and while Drag Me to Hell generally forgoes humour in favour of frights, certain moments punctuating the film remain hilariously hard to forget (unusual possessed objects, a devastatingly creative opening fight scene, several inventive gross-out bits and at least one ironic use of Christian iconography among others).
Nonetheless, as hard hitting, chilling and whimsical as the film is, it is unlikely to surpass Raimi's past work in the eyes of most fans, and those unfamiliar with his work are just as likely to be bemused as enthralled by such a brand of intentionally campy horror. Of course even considered within its genre, the film has clearly discernible flaws (an arguably oversimplified and generic script with an ending perhaps a shade too predictable and no characters quite as bizarrely memorable as Bruce Campbell's Ash), yet the crucial element to the film's success remains its dogged determination to terrify the audience as relentlessly and unpredictably as possible while simultaneously refusing to take itself seriously. Yes the fleeting attempts at moralising may appear trite, but such a daringly questionable moral stance (Christine is damned to incessant torment through a single moral lapse despite a lifetime otherwise spent attempting to better herself or others) demonstrates Raimi's gleeful refusal to confine himself with traditional emotional storyline arcs and instead have as much brutal fun in the meantime as possible. While the film may not be quite as fearlessly odd as his earlier fare, Drag Me to Hell is at least just as entertaining, which in the end is all it was likely intended to be.
Even with the absence of B-movie superstar Bruce Campbell, Raimi's film is firmly carried by its capable cast. Alison Lohman is a triumph as Christine, the normally well intentioned loans officer subjected to continuous torment. As well as proving admirably game for abiding every possible trauma from being thrown around, writhing in mud and expelling insects and blood, Lohman proves enormously charismatic and frighteningly believable, making her tortures feel all the more disconcertingly affecting despite their campy excesses. Justin Long also proves a surprisingly solid piece of casting as Christine's incessantly kind and loving boyfriend, toning down his usual humour in favour of a likable and credible piece of potentially cumbersome characterisation. Lorna Raver is memorably unsettling as the gypsy woman placing the curse on Christine, as well as also proving commendably willing to subject herself to numerous unusual forms of punishment, and Dileep Rao is a laudably even and credible presence as a good hearted fortune teller.
While it may prove more polarising for audiences than the average horror film, Drag Me to Hell marks a triumphant return to Raimi's formative genre, demonstrating that even after decades his ability to evoke superbly crafted scares and bizarre laughs remains intact. Audiences approaching the film with no real complexity in mind (though there are undertones to be delved up if desired) and prepared to laugh as much as scream may find the film several cuts above most modern fright-fests, and a positive omen, if any, for the creative direction of Raimi's subsequent return to the faltering Spider-Man franchise.
-7.5/10