Drag Me To Hell

Review by Sean Lynch

There is no way to put your finger on exactly why some movies fall into the "So Bad They Are Good" category.

Pretty much anything from the 1980s starring Arnold Schwarzenegger gets automatic entry, a handful of teen rom-coms, a few kids flicks... 

But the common thread seems to be that the best "So Bad They Are Good" flicks are usually the ones that set out to be considered legitimate films - and fail miserably.

It seems to be almost impossible to purposely make something so cheesy and dodge that it actually delights an audience... unless you're Sam Raimi of course.

After sinking his teeth into the billion dollar Spider-Man franchise, director Sam Raimi returns to the horror genre he made his name in (thanks to the cult Evil Dead series) with Drag Me To Hell.

It's an original tale of a young woman's desperate quest to escape an evil curse... and it's a film aiming firmly for the "So Bad It Is Good" bin.

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Warren Cheswick himself, Justin Long).

Life is good until the mysterious and flem ridden Mrs. Ganush arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan.

Foolishly, poor Christine opts to deny the extension to impress her boss in order to get a leg-up on a promotion, dispossessing Mrs. Ganush of her home.

In retaliation, the old woman places the "Curse Of The Lamia" upon Christine, transforming her life into a living nightmare where she is haunted by an evil spirit which seeks to harvest her soul for eternal damnation.

The beauty of Drag Me To Hell is Raimi knows exactly what he wants here. He knows exactly what buttons to push, when to push them - and most importantly - knows the difference between "Shitty Good" and "Shitty Bad".

Let's not put bells and whistles on this - Drag Me To Hell ain't no masterpiece. But it's not trying to be either.

In fact, you could be quite easily excused for assuming the script, budget and digital effects were left overs from a lost episode of the TV version of R.L. Stines Goosebumps series (remember his horrid intros "I'm RL Stine - I write the Goosebumps books"), or for the 1990s Nickelodeon viewer, Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

And that's where the genius of Sam Raimi (who has signed on to direct the World Of Warcraft movie) lies... in that he is wanting to elicit that thought from you. It's exactly what Tarantino and Rodriguez attempted with Grindhouse - except this time, Raimi actually succeeds.

Better yet, the scares in the film are genuine seat jumpers (which I haven't experienced since Scream back in 1996) while still remaining breath-takingly funny. I challenge anyone not to laugh pee / scared pee during the scene in which Ganush attacks Christine in her own car... you just won't be able to hold it, you simply can't.

Ridiculously stupid, over the top violence, talking possessed goats and violently powerful blood noses. All classic cult moments waiting to be immortalised by the genre... and somehow... that was Sam Raimi's plan all along.

4 out of 5

Drag Me To Hell
Australian release: 23rd July, 2009
Official Site: Drag Me To Hell
Cast: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza
Director: Sam Raimi