CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 5/29/09

The Good Curse

By nick randall

Writer-director Sam Raimi makes his return to horror, crafting a deliciously fun and gory film that marks the best time I've had at the movies this year.

Drag Me to Hell

Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi (former also directed)

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is a loan officer up for a promotion at her bank, but in order to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer)—who doesn't think she's capable of making tough decisions—she goes against her better judgment and evicts the elderly Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) from her home. It turns out the old woman is really a gypsy, who, feeling shamed, casts a demonic curse on Christine that sends her life spiraling into a living hell.

In other hands, a film about gypsy curses and demonic spirits that feed on human souls could easily come across as cheesy or dull. But under the guidance of Sam and his brother, Ivan Raimi (who serves as co-writer), the script finds the right balance of character development and over-the-top scares. From the get-go we care about Christine's situation; her work is always going overlooked at the office, and then there's the anxiety about meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time. It's the normalcy of her life that contrasts perfectly with the whirlwind of terror that is about come her way.

And come it does, in the form of dancing shadow demons, geyser-spewing nosebleeds, and the most badass gypsy woman you have ever seen (she has a habit of removing her teeth a lot). While the film definitely has its share of jump-out-of-your-seat scares, it's the relentlessly fun and gross-out nature of the picture that makes it unique. A telling scene comes when Mrs. Ganush and Christine engage in what can only be described as the mother of all catfights in a parking garage in which their weapons of choice include a stapler, a block of cement, and all the gooey phlegm that ejects freely from Mrs. Ganush's mouth (while she's trying to bite off Christine's face, of course). It would be a crime not to mention the use of sound in the film, because many of the best moments are generated from nothing but noise, such as when Christine ingests a fly and later we hear it buzzing inside her tummy.

The story isn't trying to break new ground; in fact, what makes it so much fun is the way it embraces horror clichés. There's the dimly lit parking garage, a creepy cemetery scene, and even a séance to thwart evil spirits. And when the curse takes hold of Christine's life, it's her boyfriend Clay (Justin Long), a psychology professor, who plays the role of the classic non-believer. It's a testament that with all the usual suspects in place the story doesn't get boring or predictable, but instead feels like we're seeing it all for the first time.

Did I mention this movie is really funny? The script has a knack for putting Christine in the worst of situations, and we get a kick out of watching her squirm. When she gets a nosebleed at the bank, for example, the blood doesn't simply drip out but gushes all over her boss' face and he runs around yelling, "Did I get any in my eye?" And, in the spirit of Raimi's earlier work, including the Evil Dead films, we get a funny possessed goat and eyeballs appearing in someone's cake that must be stabbed with a fork.

If there is a bone to pick, it's an attempted twist in act three that is fairly telegraphed and not all that successful. As a result, the ending seems to go on for longer than it should, but it's only a minor complaint because the final scene is well worth the wait.

At a time when virtually every horror release seems like an unnecessary remake or a bland import from Japan, Drag Me to Hell is a refreshing change of pace that never takes itself too seriously and is almost impossible not to like.

Drag Me to Hell
Universal Studios
Rated PG-13; 99 min.

Nick Randall received his MFA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University in 2006. He can be found at the beach or a cubicle somewhere working on his latest screenplay.



Drag Me to Hell courtesy Universal Studios

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