Drag Me to Hell

Honestly, no horror movie has brought me as much joy since The Ring as Sam Raimi's latest piece. Although it may not be innovative like The Ring, it is a tribute to its genre, a well-made film that includes all the basic genre motifs and attributes. We have here an aggressive witch, exorcism, a demon, mysticism, occultism, desecration of a grave, various phobias, jump scares, and a carefully built atmosphere. Even the opening credits cleverly use visual motifs from medieval books on Satanism and witchcraft. But the most important thing is Raimi's ability to skillfully balance on the edge of the genre and constantly undermine it with comedic and self-ironic elements. It's not strictly a comedy, as the horror element prevails, but Raimi winks at his audience and makes it clear that he knows his fans aren't looking for an Oscar-worthy spectacle, but for a good dose of entertainment. It's been a long time since a director played with me like this, and his imaginative use of some classic horror props is simply delightful. For example, a cross, used in countless horror movies and borrowed from a gothic novel, appears for only about 20 seconds, but the heroine feels its presence overwhelmingly physically. Although I understood the twist as an experienced movie fan the moment the lips licked the envelope, the way Raimi brought his film to its finale was surprising. All in all, I think it's the best film in its genre in the last 3 years or so. Overall impression: 90%. If Raimi had omitted some elements of splatterpunk, my satisfaction would have been even greater. Nevertheless, it's a good return to his directorial roots. To confirm the film's quality, all I had to do was watch the enthusiastic faces of the audience in the movie theater - such reactions can only be caused by a fraction of horror films these days... (06/25/2009)

An excellent ride, during which one laughs at times at the admitted and intensified nonsense, and at times catches their breath during brilliantly shot jump scares. Raimi has still got it, and Drag Me To Hell is nothing but living proof that when someone has a gift, they will scare you at anytime, and in any way. A wonderful adrenaline injection and, as strange as it may sound, a very pleasant film. Pure pleasure, but I'm honestly scared about tonight... :o) [85%] (06/09/2009)

With Drag Me to Hell, Raimi makes a partial return to “his” 1980s, but he doesn’t forget to also use what he has learned in the mainstream waters. I think this film is just the kind that can satisfy horror fans, while also entertain and scare a little the average viewer. The only little thing I could reproach is the exaggerated likeability. Fortunately, the scary scenes, the humour and the jump-scares are in the right proportion for the result to still be horror instead of comedy (the reviews had made me expect a lot more jokes and I was pleasantly surprised by the reality) – basically, it’s something between The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II. Both approaches work perfectly, when Raimi wants you to feel tense (or scared), you will feel tense (in the moments when danger is approaching), and he’s just as good at making you laugh (when the danger shows itself in all its beauty, expelling various bodily fluids). 8/10 (06/18/2009)

An utterly boring and plotless horror. From start to finish there was nothing scary; the only good scene was maybe the one in the car when the old lady started laying into Christine. The rest isn’t worth my breath and I can’t understand the high scores given by others. I couldn’t find a single excuse to give this even one dumb star... Complete nonsense... (01/06/2013)

Figure skating through different film genres, with a boldness spiced up with a unique creative signature. Sam Raimi is a genius who has mastered everything from jump scares and spooky atmospheres to social humor and Hitchcock-like family dinners. But the combination of witty humor and polished horror is not to everyone’s taste. That’s why I prefer the first Evil Dead to the second for the reason that it is a pure horror movie... and I love Jackson’s Braindead for the reason that it is a pure comedy. I’ve never liked when these two genres get mixed. But I’m still giving this film four stars, mainly for Sam’s refined perfectionism. (07/07/2009)