In general, watching horror films these days is like watching a virgin couple making love on their wedding night: there may be some initial titillation, but there isn’t enough to keep you interested. Because these films are cheap to make and are an easy draw for teen and twenty-something audiences, they are more often than not the first film of an “up-and-coming” filmmaker, which used to be a good thing, but now-a-days, it seems to result in a movie that’s amateurish, ultimately forgettable and derivative of what people think is popular these days. Because of this, it’s a breath of fresh air to watch a horror flick that is made with the eye of a seasoned pro.
After finishing the recently-released director’s cut of Drag Me To Hell, I’m tempted to say this film is Sam Raimi’s return to form, but the career of the man most known for the Spiderman movies is hard to pin down. Outside of the Evil Dead Trilogy (which may become a “quadrilogy,” according to IMDB) Drag Me To Hell is the only other horror film he has directed, and when you consider that Army of Darkness has more in common with his respective fantasy/comedy series’ Hercules and Xena than it does with the previous two Evil Dead films, Raimi has only really done two horror flicks his entire career until now. That said, he has never really disappointed in this genre.
Admittedly, Drag Me To Hell is pretty formulaic, plot wise — it’s your basic woman-gets-cursed-and-has-only-so-and-so-days-until-something-horrible story — but there is a sense of purpose and attention to detail that pays off in a terrifying and grotesquely-funny way. From the opening scene and the title sequence which recalls Sergio Leone, to the gruesomely chilling climax, this movie hits every note with near pitch-perfection, making for a deeply satisfying filmgoing experience that will be familiar to fans of Evil Dead, and also of arteurs like Dario Argento.
Joseph is an unemployed writer who spends most of his time popping pills, drinking and obsessively checking for new facebook comments. His favorite kind of movies are the ones with quiet explosions and small-breasted women. 
Loading ...