Drag Me To Hell

Last week 3 out of the 4 Connoisseurs got together for a nice early dinner outing at Casa Romero, accompanied by our friends and family. Afterwards I tried to organize an expedition to the movie theater to see the new Terminator flick, but unfortunately my fellow diners had been exposed to a couple of hours of fresh air and unaccustomed to such strain they all decided to head home. Not one to be so easily demoralized,  I took my date to the movies we were shocked to see that Drag Me To Hell was already in theaters.

I love it when movies just sneak up on me like that because it means I have not been primed by the trailers and talk show appearances. Still for a new Sam Raimi movie to sneak up on me like that, especially if he is doing horror again, well I should have my geek card revoked. As much as I love the Terminator universe, this was just too good to pass up.

I’m glad we chose Drag Me to Hell; from the very beginning it establishes itself as something unusually good. It opens with a great scene reminiscent of horror from the late 70´s and early 80´s, all colorful yet sinister at the same time with a little bit of cheese. After an awful exorcism gone wrong the movie kicks off, shedding its old-school roots but retaining some elements such as the over-the-top score and cliché Twilight Zone plot. Given that this movie focuses a bit on style over substance, I’ll describe the plot as simply as I can. A young and ambitious loan officer (Alison Lohman) is cursed after she denies an old gypsy woman’s plea to not have her home repossessed, and this curse manifests itself as an evil spirit that wants to drag her soul to Hell after tormenting her for a few days. While the plot is that simple, the details are what make this movie. For example Alison’s character only denies the extension because she is trying to impress her boss who thinks she is too nice. Also, she is trying to get away from her past as a chubby farm girl, and this insecurity gets exploited a lot by both her natural and supernatural enemies.

The actual curse is really cool, manifesting itself as a shadowy goat-shaped demon. This demon fills her life with crawly insects and possessed household objects that attack her every time her back is turned, even going after her in her dreams. Also, the old gypsy woman keeps popping up in unexpected places, screaming at the terrified audience watching the movie. While I’m usually not the biggest fan of jump scares and CGI, this movie does a great job freaking you out with low budget computer effects.

While Sam Raimi is known for the ultra violence of his Evil Dead movies, what really makes him stand out is his crazy camera work. In the past his camera has swung from building to building as it chased Spider-Man or zipped past actors simulating bullets. Here the camera does not follow the movies lead actress so much as it stalks her, peeking at her from around corners and then moving in too close for you to see what is going on until it is too late. This tight, atmospheric style of filming sets up some great ambushes that had the entire movie theater screaming and laughing and screaming some more. Besides the scares our poor loan officer has a ton of emotional and physical punishment thrown at her, played for laughs. This is another common theme in Sam Raimi’s films, his heroes always get beat up by wave after wave of cartoonish yet grisly violence. Still it is a little uncomfortable watching this happen to a woman, so thankfully it never goes too far.

Eventually enough is enough and our heroine decides she must face the demons that are accosting her, enlisting fortune tellers and spiritual mediums to assist her. In the end it really comes down to her making some difficult choices which will determine whether or not she is dragged to Hell, but I won’t give away what I consider one of my favorite endings this year.