Film Festival 09 - Drag Me To Hell
Drag Me to Hell
USA 2009, 99m
Director: Sam Raimi
Festivals: SXSW, Cannes (Midnight Screenings) 2009
Sam Raimi, the Detroit super-8 horror nut who became a Hollywood
titan (Spiderman 1,2,3), returns to his roots (Evil Dead 1,2,3)
with a hellacious and hysterical chill-ride that owes more than a
passing nod towards Curse of the Demon, Jacques Tourneur's classic
tale of supernatural coercion. This throwback to classic goofy
horrorcoms has pretty loan officer Alison Lohman denying a decrepit
gypsy woman an extension on her mortgage. This intentional slight
of course ends with a curse invoked and Lohman battling a demon
intent on dragging her literally to hell. The film swerves from
gross-outs to terrific set-pieces, taking audiences for a ride that
will have them laughing and screaming simultaneously. Raimi's
direction can't hide an infectious carny spirit. He upstages his
own work by taking the pulpy retro source material to dizzying new
heights of non-stop absurd bloody fun and killer kinetic action.
See it first at the Fest!
