Drag Me to Hell (2009)

**

An old gypsy woman comes into the bank to ask for a 3rd loan on her house.  Alison Lohman, who is up for assistant manager, denies her request.  The gypsy woman begs Lohman for the loan, but she won't give in.  Lohman needs to prove to her boss that she can make tough decisions.  Because Lohman will not give her the loan, the gypsy woman puts a curse on Lohman that will kill her in three days time.  

Because of various hauntings, Lohman realizes that the curse is real.  With the help from her fiance, mediums, and psychics, she tries her best to break the curse and save her own life.

"Drag Me to Hell" is directed by Sam Raimi.  The viewer must realize that they are going to see a Sam Raimi horror film.  Raimi is famous for his "Evil Dead" trilogy.  He mixes horror with a lot of camp humor.  I did not know if he would make "Drag Me to Hell" in the same spirit as the "Evil Dead" series, but fortunately, he did.  It is a return to his roots and he did an excellent job.  The movie is very much like "Evil Dead II".  It is scary, but it also is hilarious.  It is a very unique way of filmmaking.

What I liked most about the movie was that it was original.  So many movies come out now about hauntings, spirits, and psychics.  They have all pretty much become the same movie.  This is a fresh take on that sub-genre of the horror field.  

The dialogue and acting isn't great in the movie, but I believe it was intended that way.  Alison Lohman is a great actress and she is very likable in this film.  I know she is capable of a great performance, but this is the type of movie where the actor is supposed to ham it up.  She did an excellent job in achieving this.  She has become the new Bruce Campbell.  She even has lines very reminiscent to Campbell's lines in the "Evil Dead" films.  

The old gypsy woman was very scary.  It is always scary to see an old woman stalking someone.  She was relentless.  She never did give up on torturing this poor girl.  And her makeup was great.  She looked like a horrifying 200 year old witch.

The movie did have a lot of gross out scenes which were very fun to watch.  The movie theater audience went from screaming, to laughing, and back to screaming again.  It was a fun roller coaster ride of a movie.

I don't really want to mention specific hauntings because I think the viewer should see this movie not knowing anything about it.  It is unlike any other horror movie you have seen in the last twenty years.  If you are a fan of Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" films, you will love this movie.  Don't expect to get a straight horror movie.  "Drag Me to Hell" makes fun of itself and the horror genre.  It is a very refreshing way to see a horror film.

B+  I recommend it.