The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Best2012Vote-1000x50

Review: Drag Me To Hell

Proving you don't need buckets of blood to scare the bejabbers out of an audience.
By BETSY SHERMAN  |  June 2, 2009
3.5 3.5 Stars


VIDEO: The trailer for Drag Me To Hell

Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert here return to the gonzo slapstick horror of their classic Evil Dead trio — and this time they show the kiddos you don't need buckets of blood to scare the bejabbers out of an audience. (A cascade of vomited cockroaches will do.)

Raimi embraces hoary clichés like Gypsy curses and gateways to Hades in this cautionary tale for financial professionals. Loan officer Christine — a sweetie who volunteers at a puppy clinic — doesn't want to repossess poor old Mrs. Ganush's house, but she covets a promotion to assistant manager. The deed done, Mrs. G. conjures a vengeful demon that attacks Christine in myriad guises — most memorably free-flying parts of the grotesque granny's body.

Raimi's devilish wit and masterful use of shadow, sound, and silence make it folly to predict when or how the spirit will appear. And Alison Lohman is hilariously beleaguered as Christine, who's forced to rejigger her ideas about things like blood sacrifice if it'll chase the demon out of her life.

Related: Review: Hatchet II, Review: Case 39, Review: My Soul To Take, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, Movie Stars,  More more >
| More

[ 02/18 ]   "48 Hour Music Festival 4"  @ SPACE Gallery
[ 02/18 ]   Inspectah Deck + Colt Seavers  @ Port City Music Hall
[ 02/18 ]   Jeff Beam + Tanner Smith + John Nels  @ The Hive
ARTICLES BY BETSY SHERMAN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: CHARLOTTE RAMPLING: THE LOOK  |  January 31, 2012
    Rampling's physical gifts, unimpeded by plastic surgery in their march through time, are matched by a keen mind and an unapologetic approach to life and work.
  •   REVIEW: THE GREY  |  January 26, 2012
    At the center of this superior stranded-men-picked-off-by-external-threat thriller is Ottway, an anguished loner powerfully played by Liam Neeson.
  •   REVIEW: RED TAILS  |  January 24, 2012
    With a title that refers not to squirrels but to plane markings, Red Tails dramatizes the struggles and triumphs of African-American pioneers, the Tuskegee Airmen.
  •   REVIEW: THE ARTIST  |  December 20, 2011
    The advent of talking pictures sends a screen idol into both a career nosedive and an identity crisis in Michel Hazanavicius's flashback to Hollywood's transitional period of the late '20s.
  •   REVIEW: LIKE CRAZY  |  November 01, 2011
    Like Crazy is hooked onto a series of plot points — the bureaucratic hassles wrought by Londoner Anna's impulsive decision to overstay her student visa so she can remain in LA with boyfriend Jacob — yet it's quintessentially character-driven.

 See all articles by: BETSY SHERMAN



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2012 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group