Review of Drag Me to Hell (2009) by Filipeneto — 12 Feb 2018

Apparently misunderstood.

This film tells the story of Christine Brown, a woman of modest origins who, wishing to ascend socially by a job promotion and feeling despised by the rich boyfriend's parents, turns out to be responsible for the misery of an old (and disgusting) Hungarian gypsy, Mrs. Ganush. In retaliation, she goes after Christine and casts on her a terrible curse that threatens, in just three days, shoot with her soul into the depths of Hell.

This film marks the return of Sam Raimi to horror movies where he was so happy in the past, with hits such as "Evil Dead", a film that he will revisit here, in some scenes and details. Yes, because he not only directs this film as it is also one of the main responsible for its screenplay. From the middle of the cast we can highlight two names that really shone: the first is Lorna Raver, a veteran actress with a huge talent who has done most of her career in theater, despite some discreet parts in movies. By participating in this film in the role of the main antagonist, Mrs. Ganush, I dare to say that she did her most prominent role in the industry so far, and that was a very wise bet: she managed to make a truly disgusting and loathsome character, which contributes greatly to the dramatic tension. Another name that deserves congratulations is Alison Lohman, who plays the protagonist, Christine Brown, and easily captures our sympathy, making a psychologically complex character who will pass through an "evolution" during the film, becoming more altruistic. Another thing that makes Lohman deserve congratulations is the fact that she have done almost every scenes of the film without stunts.

I think many people haven't understood this film. I recognize that it uses many "recipes" and "formulas" used in other horror movies and it can become a movie more predictable... but I think this is a minor problem compared to the modern and absolutely pornographic oceans of blood, vomit and guts that we can see in some films. That didn't bring anything positive to the art of horror cinema but, in these days, it's easier to scares by that way than using more elaborate means. Maybe that's why "Drag Me to Hell" didn't achieve the recognition I think its deserves. It's a movie that works well and scares us, puts us under stress, anxious and nervous, as if we felt that Brown's punishment was too hard for the mistake she made. The ending is somewhat predictable, in fact: Brown is the only one who seems to think she can easily escape the fury that came for her. Despite this, and some comic details, it's a great horror film.