A Really Solid Horror

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2016)

I went into this movie with some expectations. Considering the incredibly high metascore I was interested. It's a horror with a high score like that, but somehow a much lower user score. I'm happy to say that the critics were the right ones here.
Drag Me to Hell has a relatively unoriginal plot. Someone gets cursed and is trying to get rid of it before she falls victim to it. The movie is, although not called a comedy on IMDb, definitely supposed to be a comedy, or more of a satire. It's pretty much making fun of movies like this the whole time with just how over the top and goofy it can be, while still maintaining a serious enough plot to keep you invested. It's one of those rare scenarios where humor and seriousness blend together super well.
The characters are well done too. It's not just entirely focused on the horror and satirical jokes. The characters all have a real life outside of being cursed, and it adds a layer of depth to the story. It shows how the character's lives are affected by the curse, and it's not just through some dumb series of events that we've all seen before.
The horror itself is done pretty well too. While sometimes it feels like it's indulging in horror clichÃ©s it always feels very self- aware, considering how satirical it is, and it often ends up feeling like it's just making fun of those clichÃ©s. Nevertheless, it still indulges in them, but it works. Because of how unique the movie already is it still manages to create some tension. You know this isn't any ordinary horror movie, so the outcome isn't exactly predictable.
Overall Drag Me to Hell is really well done. The plot is, although done to death, presented well in good satirical fashion, the characters are quite well done, and the horror is quite good. How this movie got such a low user rating it beyond me, but I guess great horror movies just aren't for everyone. In the end I'd definitely recommend this movie, but mostly for people who like horror or satires or both.