Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Drag Me to Hell

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 05-28-2009, 08:45 PM:

dumbest movie ever. It wasn't even good in that bad horror movie kind of way.

One thing is for sure, this is going to be as bad as The Others with the preteens. I feel sorry for anyone who has to work on the floor while this is out.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 05-29-2009, 03:07 AM:

You have to go into this movie thinking the crazy things that Sam Raimi can come up with like in the Evil Dead movies. You can not go into this thinking it is going to be a serious horror movie or anything like that. This is horror comedy and if you laugh at it then it did it's job.

I give it *** out of 4

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 06-01-2009, 12:50 AM:

Henceforth, I shall be recording a little more data in my reviews.

Cinemark Movies 14, Mishawaka, IN.
Auditorium #4, DTS.
Presentation: [thumbsup]

Most fun I've had in a cinema in awhile. I agree with Darryl too: this is Sam Raimi doing his thing. Suspension of belief is not optional.

The old Universal logos were a nice touch too.

AJG

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 06-04-2009, 06:38 PM:

What a gross movie. I found myself laughing and being disgusted simultaneously. Could anything else nasty possibly have gone in her mouth? Liked it a lot. Sam Raimi continues to do his thing with great success.

Posted by Geena Phillips (Member # 3726) on 06-06-2009, 11:52 PM:

AWESOME. After years of seeing the horror aesthetic given us by Saw (I like Saw, but the whole "Dirty + Grimy = Scary" thing gets old after a while), a real honest-to-goodness horror film is sent down from Sam Raimi's perch atop Mount Olympus.

Welcome back, Sam; I TOTALLY forgive you for Spider-Man 3.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-14-2009, 10:22 PM:

Okay, this was the co-feature with "Pelham 1-2-3" at Becky's D/I, Berlinsville, PA, which I saw this weekend. I took it in stride as I don't normally care for these kinds of pictures.

quote: Darryl Spicer
This is horror comedy and if you laugh at it then it did it's job.

Wow, I did. Out loud. I thought it was unintentionally funny, though, like the bees coming out of the guy's mouth in "The Green Mile". I laughed out loud at that, too.

Btw, what's with scary movies and things going into, or coming out of, people's mouths?! What's up with that?

I hope Universal is actually going back to the old "solar system" logo! It was always my favorite. This is the second movie I've seen it on recently ("Land of the Lost" being the other).

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 07-30-2009, 08:20 AM:

After a string of mediocre "horror" films over the last few years, here comes horror-meister-turned-respectable director, Sam Raimi, to show them all exactly how it's done. The fact that Raimi can deliver a horror movie ostensibly about a cursed button and not have it look completely ludicrous is testament to the man's mastery of the craft. Drag Me To Hell also affords him a level of redemption from the slapstick misfire of Army Of Darkness, replete as it was with special effects that were astonishingly inferior to his seminal "video nasty", The Evil Dead, "the Ultimate Experience in Gruelling Horror", despite being 10 years it's junior.

Raimi knows what makes horror tick, he cut his teeth on it. Demonstrating his mastery of the genre, he plays on our insecurities in acting against our better judgement, expertly utilising flies, body fluids, unworldly yet strangely familiar sounds, creative shadow play, obtuse camera angles and syncopated editing to great effect. Menace is created in the most innocuous of elements - leaves blowing in the wind, creaky gate hinges and shifting furniture. Hippy wind chimes are liberally rattled, violin strings are duly screeched. Meticulously engineered "false relief" devices, which are not always followed by a legitimate "scare", keep the tension palpable and the scares unpredictable. These are readily recognisable Raimi trademarks but spotting them is half the fun and they never fail to deliver the requisite tension regardless.

Numerous nods to his Evil Dead movies abound like the strangely familiar voice on Christine's (Alison Lohman) self help tape, a starring role for his rusty old yellow Oldsmobile and a knowing reference to a holiday in a remote cabin; the only thing missing is a Bruce Campbell cameo!

While Drag Me To Hell doesn't break the mould in horror film making, which is slightly disappointing because The Evil Dead did, it's certainly a worthy study in how a horror movie ought to be made. Prospective horror directors take note.

7.5 out of 10.

Posted by Jonathan Worthing (Member # 803) on 10-27-2009, 04:39 AM:

I know Sam Rami has gone a bit big budget Hollywood, but I had hoped with this film he would come back to the type of which made him his name (nail biting horror with a fun undertone).

This film was one of the biggest piles of [bs]

I have seen in a long time, & I watched Benjamin Button. I hate to say it but I think he has lost the skill forever.

1 out of 10