Sam Raimi proves he still can do a humorous Horror-Action movie after spending about a decade on Spider-Man which was like all contemporary superhero franchises, it had diminishing returns with every sequel; in his defense, he did a better job than Tim Burton did on two Batmans.
Somara and I really wanted to see this in theaters too, namely at an Alamo Drafthouse but only South Lamar briefly had it.
Normally, I avoid…no, I hate the majority of contemporary Horror movies. Ever since I was a kid, most were really Slasher movies involving teenagers/college students getting brutally murdered by Jason, Michael, Freddy or whoever. Many of my male peers found these flicks funny. I found them awful on numerous levels. Hence my reluctance to watch Evil Dead 2 one evening at a friend’s place in 1992. Despite the part with Ashe intentionally cutting off his hand (I have a personal fear of such a thing) it was clever, weird and funny. It made me look forward to Army of Darkness which was more of an Action/Fantasy movie. Raimi’s movies tend to have this signature with movement reminiscent of the frenetic stunts shown in silent movies starring Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd. I think it takes some of the stomach-turning elements away from his Horror work, making his stuff enjoyable while Eli Roth and his ilk stick with gorenography or Rube Goldberg plot contraptions.
Personal history and dislike aside, Raimi proved why he’s a great director on Drag as well as Spider-Man. Too bad his next upcoming film will be based upon the online game World of Warcraft; the button-mashing magnet for the socially retarded.
Drag kicks off with a quick prologue in 1969 to give you an idea what gypsies can unleash when you steal from them. Then fast forward to the present to meet Christine, a young loan officer vying for an assistant manager job. Her competition is an ass-kisser who likes to sabotage her through passive-aggressive moves: lunch orders, tickets for the boss, etc. Her love life is a little problematic too. Christine’s boyfriend Clay (aka Justin “I’m a Mac!” Long) is a sweet, generous college professor from a wealthy family. The contention comes from Clay’s mother who thinks she’s just a dumb farm girl beneath his social standing. During a typical day at work, an elderly woman walks up to her desk requesting assistance. Christine examines all the paperwork and realizes it’s a foreclosure notice explaining how the woman is six months behind, has received two extensions already and the bank will take the house pretty soon. Figuring this is her big chance to show the boss she can make tough choices, Christine makes the decision to not grant a third extension. The elderly woman isn’t a typical retiree living on a fixed income but a gypsy (obviously from the trailers/descriptions) who places a curse on the protagonist as revenge for a public shaming in the lobby. Now Christine has three days to defeat this or a demon will take her to the underworld.
Raimi’s execution is excellent and he did it so well with a PG-13 rating! Horror buffs poo poo’d the lack of an R with this. As The Onion once argued about the success of The Blair Witch Project, what’s scarier? The wolf you see or the wolf behind the door trying to get in? Those cheesy Universal Horror movies starring Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. and Boris Karloff were frightening due to my imagination filling in the gaps! This is what Raimi does here, especially with the one scene the animal-rights crowd had a fit over. He also sprinkles in his trademark action scenes involving rather improbable yet darkly comical elements I hadn’t watched since Caro & Jeunet’s City of Lost Children. Finally, without giving away the ending, Sam and his brother Ivan succeeded in writing one of the best plot twists to deceive a rather observant movie watcher as myself: I’m not super perceptive but the majority of Hollywood’s product is frequently predictable when it comes to knowing who the real killer, thief, or whatever is. Case in point, the so-called Thriller/Mystery The Bone Collector from a decade ago. With Drag you may be kicking yourself for not seeing the Raimis’ sleight-of-hand sooner.
My daughter Candace & I went to see this at a budget cinema, watching Bruno there first. Bruno was weird enough and choppy enough that I didn’t much mind people checking their phones and such during the film, but I wanted to immerse myself in Drag Me to Hell, and that just wasn’t to be. People were just chatting away like they were at home with the TV, even after my trademark, “Hey, folks, I didn’t pay to listen to you yammer.” So we left. I really, really hate listening to other people talk to the screen, or even mumble in the back row.
Later, we picked up the DVD and watched it at home. You’re right, Mag. It really is an awesome film, perfectly paced, with engaging characters and Raimi’s unique weird horror vision. (It reminded me more of Evil Dead II than anything else I can recall.) And the descent toward the ending is all so appropriate. I’m proud of him for this film.
You mention a PG-13 rating. Wow. I hadn’t really noticed that. The film has such impact, but in retrospect I can’t think of anything to give it an R. To feel as scary as an R without being an R is impressive.
So I’ll add my applause to yours for Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell. Here’s hoping he’ll get a chance to do more flicks in this vein.