THE ONES THAT NEARLY GOT AWAY #1: a review of "Drag Me To Hell"

For the premiere installment of my new series, which will offer BRAND NEW reviews of films that had previously passed me by, I am happy to begin on a high note. I hope you enjoy it!!

“DRAG ME TO HELL” (2009)
Written by Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi
Directed by Sam Raimi
***1/2 (three and a half stars)

I am going to inform you right up front that I am not a fan of horror films. While I do willingly place myself into a filmmaker’s capable hands for all manner of emotionally visceral thrills and excitement through a wide variety of film styles and genres, the genre of horror is one I tend to give a wide berth. I do not enjoy the act of being frightened, scared or placing my senses into a state of needless panic--via giant movie screens and THX audio systems--solely through the images and sounds a filmmaker chooses to hurl at me. On rare occasions, however, I will take the plunge into deeper and scarier cinematic waters, allowing myself to be led, either by a favorite filmmaker, a curious intrigue to a film or storyline that I cannot seem to keep myself from or even through something as inane as peer pressure. I hope you will permit me to indulge you for a few moments before the “main event” of this review…

Nothing of this world or any other would have kept me away from Steven Spielberg’s 1982 haunted house epic, “Poltergeist” (a film I saw exactly one week after his astounding "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial"). Written and Produced by Spielberg and Directed by Tobe Hooper (who helmed the 1974 horror classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), “Poltergeist” presented the mundane of everyday, anytime suburbia and transformed those sleepy streets into a voluminous nightmare. Spielberg and Hooper took their sly critique of our over-consumption of television and combined it with the sights of ravenous trees, demonic toy clowns, disembodied voices, ominously light bathed inner-worlds of closets and of course, the constant chilling presence of off-air television channels drenched in electronic “snow.” By the time the film concluded with a cacophony of rising skeletons, an ocean of screams and the unprecedented vision of an imploding house, “Poltergeist” was the definition of an experience. It was a film that supremely worked me over, whose intensity has been unforgotten and quite possibly remains my favorite horror film.

Curiosity afforded me tentative yet highly successful trips to films like William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” (1973), Brian DePalma’s high school Hell of “Carrie” (1976), Stanley Kubrick’s psychological descent of “The Shining” (1980), Ken Russell’s hallucinogenic “Altered States” (1981), Wes Craven’s original “A Nightmare On Elm Street” (1984) to more recent fare like M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense” (1999).

Aside from having my arm twisted to endure a sneak preview showing of “Arachnophobia” (1990), (a screening that I am still amazed that I was able to exit without having had a stroke), I instantly recall a peer pressure moment from 1978 when I was nine years old. During a visit with relatives, my cousin was pushing valiantly to venture to a screening of “Jaws 2,” the thought of which terrified me to no end. Fearing, even more than a man eating shark, was the potential of the endless amount of teasing from said cousin, so I dumbly decided to raise the stakes with a bluff by announcing that we should go see the Satanic sequel “Damien: Omen II.” I was certain that my Uncle would obviously see my bluff, relent and take us to see something considerably tamer. Unfortunately, no. My cousin and I sat shuddering in that darkened movie theater, viewing one Luciferian evisceration after another, all set to the relentless sound of that shrieking demon choir, wishing that we had perhaps seen something different…or even remained safely at home with our comic books.

Now I arrive at this moment in time, considerably older and seemingly more able to handle fictional shocks and scares. But, like I said at the outset, I still tend to give these movies proper space. If I don't bother them, they won't bother me.

The work of Writer/Director Sam Raimi has not crossed my cinematic path often and frankly has mostly been represented through his uneven “Spider-Man” series. I have known many people who swear up and down to the brilliance of his “Evil Dead” trilogy, yet I have stayed firmly away, not wanting to venture into that world. When Raimi decided to return to his horror film roots with last year’s “Drag Me To Hell,” I have to admit that my interest was piqued, through the amount of high praise from critics, the strong word of mouth from friends and truth be told, the film’s PG-13 rating, which told me the film wouldn’t go “too far” for me. I toyed with seeing it several times but backed off. I circled around the DVD at my local video store, even almost renting it on a few visits, only to place it back upon the shelf. And then, like an incantation from beyond, the film showed up on one of my cable movie channels and I began to watch…

“Drag Me To Hell” tells the tragic story of Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a sweet and lovely young woman who lives alone with her kitten, currently dates the charming and supportive Professor Clay Dalton (played by the always engaging Justin Long) and is employed as a Loan Officer at a bank. Christine desperately hopes for a promotion to Assistant Manager yet she is in competition for the title with her smarmy office mate Stu (Reggie Lee) and is essentially told by her boss (David Paymer) that she just is not tough enough to make the difficult decisions necessary for the position. Then, one day, the twisted hand of fate arrives in the form of Sylvia Ganush (played with enthusiastic horror by Lorna Raver), a gnarled old gypsy woman with slimy dentures, one healthy eye and a humble request for a third extension on her mortgage as she is struggling with money issues. Christine, discovering the moment in which to prove herself worthy of the job promotion, denies Mrs. Ganush the extension. The old woman begs and pleads with Christine for the extension, grabbing the hem of our heroine’s skirt in mercy, a move which startles Christine to back away and call for security. Christine's reaction shames Mrs. Ganush publicly and she is ultimately exited from the premises. That evening, as Christine begins her trek homewards, Mrs. Ganush suddenly appears in the back seat of her car and the two women embark upon a hysterically violent struggle, which concludes with Mrs. Ganush stripping a button from Christine’s coat, muttering a spell and handing the button back to Christine before vanishing into the night.

After speaking with the police about the attack and being cared for by Clay, Christine impulsively decides to venture inside of a Fortune Teller’s parlor for assistance. The Teller (played by Dileep Rao), eventually informs Christine that a curse has been placed upon her and that if she does not find a way to appease herself to Mrs. Ganush and have any sort of atonement granted, she will be dragged into Hell for eternity by the demonic presence of the Lamia in three short days! Christine, feverishly attempting to reverse the curse and save her soul from eternal damnation via animal sacrifices and seances among other means, is thrown from one terrifying moment (dark dreams, nose bleeds, more attacks and a nasty, pesky housefly) to the next, all the while trying to keep her boyfriend, job, and sanity in the process.

To say much more or divulge exactly how all of the disparate parts fit together would be to ruin the surprisingly amount of fun “Drag Me To Hell” actually is. It is a lean, frisky, grotesque, and compulsively watchable horror film that never strays from its premise. It heads clear eyed and rock steady towards its dramatic finish while providing a healthy amount of shocks, jolts and at times, equally unexpected comedy along the way. It is fast paced without becoming frenetic. There are several twists and turns to the plot but the story never becomes bloated and no material is superfluous. There are gross-out shocks that never fall into unadulterated gore. Every element feels exactly correct in the presentation.

Alison Lohman makes for a game ingénue as she creates a character with a strong rooting interest--I mean—who would really want to see this charming, pretty, soft-spoken girl dragged to Hell? While the performance is not remarkable, by any means, it is her unshakable willingness to endure the needs of the story as well as whatever strains of gross-out material Raimi tosses her way, that sells this film completely.

Lorna Raver is a formidable adversary, also not without a snaky sense of humor, as her unyielding and ruthless persistence for vengeance casts a wide shadow over the entire film. Great credit goes to her and especially to Raimi for dolling our the terror and humor in equal dollops, sometimes within the same scene (that aforementioned battle between the two women in a car is simultaneously scary and downright hilarious). It often reminded me of John Landis’ classic horror comedy, “An American Werewolf In London” (1981), which accomplished this same feat magically.

And that same dark magic is at the heart of this terrific film. Watching “Drag Me To Hell,” made me catch a glimpse into what fans of Sam Raimi respond to so well with his work, as this film was highly entertaining while also being effective with its brand of horror which does leave a disturbing aftertaste. Perhaps being released from the shackles of the big budget, high expectation stranglehold of the “Spider-Man” series was freeing for Raimi as his film was creatively playful and experimental in ways that the “Spider-Man” trilogy could not afford to be due to the expectations of fans and the bean counters at the Hollywood box offices and studios. Whatever the reasons, it was obvious that Raimi was having a blast of fun behind the camera, and because of that sheer glee, I had fun as well. It was almost watching that proverbial kid in the unattended candy store, seeing what he can get away with while the authorities aren’t watching.

Have Sam Raimi and “Drag Me To Hell” provided me with a cure to my irrational fear of horror movies. No, but I will say that if horror films were presented in this fashion, I quite possibly would see more of them more frequently.

And maybe I should give those “Evil Dead” movies a whirl…

…or maybe not.