Drag Me to Hell is pure Raimi genius. Everything from the tongue-in-cheek humour, to the unsettling camera angles, and the out-of-nowhere scares screams Raimi. While a lot of people write this one off as a comedy, I can't agree. It's a horror movie, with some funny moments."Raimi has his own unique style. You can look at his body of work and see that the way he uses angles, etc. is very effective at creating mood.
"After The Evil Dead, Raimi swore he would never make a horror film that horrific again. If you look at the follow-ups, The Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, they're quite humorous. Thirty years later, you have Drag Me to Hell and it's his first time back in the horror saddle, which is sad. It's such a pity that Raimi hasn't done more horror films because he excels at the genre. The world has been missing out."
Drag Me to Hell never stops. It never lets up, never gives you a chance to feel safe. Scares come out of nowhere and there are pure gross-out moments that'll have you cringing. While the demon, the lamia, is stylistically stunning, it's the old gypsy woman, Lorna Raver's Mrs. Ganush, that's truly terrifying. It's not just the messed up eye or the nasty nails, it's... that look. Raver manages this look that's so severe, so bone-chilling, that you want to apologize for everything you've ever done in your life - while you're running far, far away.
"Lorna Raver is a star. Mrs. Ganush just wants help, basically, but takes bitter to a whole new level when she fails to get it. You feel sorry for Christine [Alison Lohman], though, because she's been put in an impossible situation. She doesn't want to let Mrs. Ganush down, but she's got all this pressure coming down on her from the top. Christine is just a poor country girl trying to do her best but it's hard to do that when everyone around you is trying to screw you over."
You can sort of see it as a cautionary tale about what it takes to get ahead and what you have to be willing to give up in return. Is anything worth giving that part of yourself up for? Christine knows her boyfriend's family are never going to see her as equals financially but, if she'd made the decision to stand up for old Mrs. Ganush, she could have soared above them morally. I'm sure Clay (Justin Long) didn't fall in love with Christine's upward mobility.
The question is, then, was Christine a bad person to begin with or, as Jay said, did she have a moment of weakness when she gave into those nagging doubts? Pretty severe punishment for a moment of weakness, if you ask me.
Jay will tell you that he feels sorry for Clay as well because he just wants to take care of his girlfriend. Does he? Does he ever stand up to his mother? After their failed dinner, does he go running after Christine or does he buckle when his mother orders him not to.
Drag Me to Hell really takes a hard look at character flaws, without dwelling on them. It's not all introspection, at all, but there's enough hidden in there to keep even angst-lovers like me happy.
"But, then, you always read too much into things. (*cough, cough* Character flaw! *cough, cough*)
"This movie is beautifully shot - as you would expect from Raimi. He's done some massive films over the years and he's learned his craft. Nothing on screen is wasted, everything you see is used to achieve a particular moment or feeling. Sam Raimi isn't quite Tim Burton as a visionary, but he's close.
"As usual, we have to mention the score. The score for Drag Me to Hell is piercing in places and builds into sweeping crescendos, which helps the mood enormously. It keeps that gypsy sound all the way through with that Old Country violin sound you associate with the Romany."
Like the wild Romany funeral. I can't even talk about Mrs. Ganush's funeral. That's just too disgusting. Raimi nails the gross-out every time, doesn't he?
"There's a lot more than just nastiness. There's humour, there's horror, there's a strong story, and you feel for the protagonist. Sam Rami is an excellent storyteller and horror is his best genre. I wish he'd do more. He could have been the John Carpenter of our age but, sadly, he shied away from it. Most directors would give their back teeth to produce what Rami did - with a ridiculously low budget like The Evil Dead or with a Hollywood worthy budget like Drag Me to Hell."
It's impossible to watch Drag Me to Hell, though, without seeing the bones of a classic movie poking through. We need to talk about the similarities between this and the 1957 film, Night of the Demon.
"Yes, there were similarities. You have the curse that drives you crazy for three days before the monster comes to get you - and that's the same for both. But, being a more modern film, Drag Me to Hell is a much more intense ride. I suppose it has a lot to do with the age. How much more intense would Night of the Demon be if it were remade now - although, I guess that's kind of what Drag Me to Hell is, now that I think about it."
It makes me wonder if Sam Raimi was deeply influenced by Night of the Demon or if he set out to remake it... Either way, he did a cracking job.
"My favourite part is the fight scene with the gypsy. It was mental, so messed up and funny. When her teeth fall out and she's trying to gum Christine to death... it was funny and gross at the same time. Besides, any movie that can have a talking goat and still be scary wins serious points.
I also love it because of the number of times it makes you [He means me] jump. You get all the little stings that aren't necessarily part of the film but they do their job in scaring the crap out of you."
Oh, yeah. This is a great movie to watch with me. The number of times I came *this* close to having major heart failure...
Thanks for visiting. Come back tomorrow to see what we have in store for you on Day 5 of 31 Days of Modern Horror.
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