DRAG ME TO HELL is pure schlock and I mean that as high praise.
Before Sam Raimi peddled the heroic with his SPIDER-MAN franchise, he tickled the grotesque with his three EVIL DEAD movies. With this film Raimi returns to those roots by crafting an equally hysterical and horrifying flick (BTW, I’m so tired of torture porn) that kicks off with a home foreclosure.
Quick tangent: while some reporters are all too keen to describe this film as a condemnation/commentary on the home foreclosure crisis, Raimi keeps insisting that the film is simply about unchecked greed and how it spoils the soul.
Allow me another tangent. Ellen Page was originally cast in the lead role but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. While Alison Lohman does a fine job, I felt like the filmmakers could have gone in a different direction. Instead of casting an actresses that embodies innocence, why not someone a bit more impish, a bit more mischievous? I’m thinking of a Parker Posey type. This would have given the film’s moral stance (and it is a VERY moral film) stronger legs to stand on.
If you like your horror flicks with a side of cheese, then this is the perfect dish for you (although I wouldn’t see the movie on a full stomach).