An underrated blend of horror and comedy gets a new release on home video
Back in 2009, Sam Raimi returned to his horror roots after several years of Spider-Man and big budget excess. Drag Me to Hell garnered a mixed reaction, but its cult status has been secured since as audiences revel in its style of gnarly horror that’s equally able to draw a laugh as well as a shudder. This genre classic is given a new treatment by Shout! Factory this week.
Synopsis
Christine Brown (Alison Lohman, Officer Downe) is on her way to having it all: a devoted boyfriend (Justin Long, Jeepers Creepers), a hard-earned job promotion, and a bright future. But when she has to make a tough decision that evicts an elderly woman from her house, Christine becomes the victim of an evil curse. Now she has only three days to dissuade a dark spirit from stealing her soul before she is dragged to hell for an eternity of unthinkable torment. Director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead Trilogy, Darkman) returns to the horror genre with a vengeance in the film that critics rave is “the most crazy, fun and terrifying horror movie in years” (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly)!
The plot itself is a simple one, a moralistic tale perfectly torn from the pages of the Cryptkeeper. A young bank clerk Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), striving to impress her boss while in search of promotion, takes a particularly hard line with an old lady (an impressively game Lorna Raver) who visits the bank, looking to stop her home from being repossessed. Turning her down escalates into a dramatic situation, resulting in the scorned woman casting a gypsy curse upon Christine. In the days that follow, strange occurrences plague her, and before long she has no option but to consult a fortuneteller. They determine that the Lamia, a demon from Hell, is stalking her, and that she has only 3 days to break the curse before he takes her soul to hell.
It’s a brisk setup before the film plunges Christine into this nightmarish situation. Drag Me to Hell is a relentless endeavor that is unabashedly fun and mean spirited in equal measure. It’s possible to enjoy the film for the gross, OTT horror comedy it is, but Raimi does weave a number of themes and judgments into the tale. Christine is presented as a decent person, one dealing with her own issues, an eating disorder notably. She’s a girl used to shame who lays the same on a frail old lady – a betrayal of her own morals. She’s a sympathetic soul still capable of cruelty to advance her own career with an act that damns her fate, one stemming from the credit crisis of the time that caused many to lose their homes. The rest of the film dedicates itself to the psychological and physical torture of Christine. There’s some disturbing imagery, some goofy, practical effects that still hold up, and some CGI that doesn’t frankly. It still adds up to a rollicking piece of horror comedy.
Lohman elicits plenty of empathy for her plight, despite that singular moment that sets the film in motion. The film rides entirely on her, and she’s more than up to the challenge. Lorna Raver too makes the most of her limited screen-time, nailing the switch from helpless old lady to vengeful gypsy. Really though, Drag Me to Hell is a showcase for Raimi’s signature flair — his weaving camera, immersive direction, not to mention putting a lead through an abhorrent, gooey, experience. It’s easy to forget how effectively he can switch between the light and the dark, the silly and the shocking. It’s a talent he showed with Evil Dead, made a giant leap with Evil Dead II, and here shows a similar step up again. Sure, in between he’s shown glimpses of such tonal shifts, the surgical sequence in Spider-Man 2 notably, but with Drag Me to Hell he embraced it with gusto, channeling his Evil Dead vibes into something more colorful and playful, but no less relentless. Raimi delivers an ending that some may find surprising, others will certainly hate, but many will embrace for how it fits with the gleeful cruelty of the rest of the film, a morality play about sacrificing your values, and simple decency, in favor of personal gain, and the damnation that follows.
The Package
Shout! Factory have put together a release than showcases not just a new 2K transfer of the unrated film, but an HD version of the original theatrical release too. The differences are pretty much limited to longer horror sequences, but the inclusion is appreciated. Image quality for both versions is solid, detail, color, and contrast all good, with no artifacts evident. The release presents the two versions of the film and a host of special features spread across two discs:
- HD Master Of The Theatrical Cut Taken From The 2K Digital Intermediate
- HD Master Of The Unrated Cut Taken From The 2K Digital Intermediate
- Production Diaries — With Behind-the-scenes Footage And Interviews With Co-writer/director Sam Raimi, Actors Allison Lohman, Justin Long, David Paymer, Dileep Rao, Lorna Raver, Special Effects Guru Greg Nicotero, Director Of Photography Peter Deming: A nice featurette that immerses the viewer in the production side of the film, with some good interview footage too.
- Vintage Interviews With Director Sam Raimi And Actors Alison Lohman And Justin Long: Clips from the film’s press tour. Similar information to that contained in the production diaries.
- TV Spots
- Theatrical Trailer
- NEW To Hell And Back — An Interview With Actress Alison Lohman: Running just over 12 minutes, a new interview with the lead, sharing some fun and interesting details about working with Raimi, script changes, and the use of practical effects during production.
- NEW Curses! — An Interview With Actress Lorna Raver: A rather fun discussion with Mrs. Ganush herself.
- NEW Hitting All The Right Notes — An Interview With Composer Christopher Young: Horror films often rely on the score and sound design to be really effective at ratcheting up the tension, so it’s nice to see an extra deal with the contributions of the films composer.
- Still Gallery
The Bottom Line
Drag Me to Hell is unabashedly fun. It’s a film whose horror elements are rooted in gross physicality, and mean spirit is tempered by lashings of black comedy, perfectly encapsulating Sam Raimi’s talents. Shout! Factory has put together a great release for fans, and a strong recommendation for those who have yet to experience the curse of the Lamia.
Drag Me to Hell is available via Shout! Factory from February 13th, 2018
