Sam Rami’s devilish slice of horror gleefully puts Alison Lohman through the wringer
Drag Me to Hell is a relentless endeavor that is unabashedly fun and mean spirited in equal measure. A moralistic tale involving young bank clerk Christine Brown (Alison Lohman). A woman striving to impress her boss while in search of promotion, who 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.
There’s a gleefully cruel tone at play here, one that encircles an act of judgement upon this girl. 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 film dedicates itself to her psychological and physical torture. There’s some disturbing imagery, some goofy, practical effects that still hold up (and some CGI that doesn’t). 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
The big selling point here is the all new 4K scan and transfer, one approved by director Sam Raimi And editor Bob Murawski. It’s very nicely done, and certainly a step up from the previous Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory, which itself was a very polished effort. Detail and depth of image impresses. Saturated colors pop well against dense and deep blacks. Grain is pretty minimal, with a clean and consistent image throughout. This is a three disc release, the first a 4K disc presenting both theatrical and unrated versions, and two Blu-rays each containing one of the two versions of the film, with a series of extra features spread over the two discs:
- NEW “Pardon My Curse: Making Drag Me To Hell” — Extensive Behind-The-Scenes Documentary Featuring New And Archival Interviews With Co-Writer/Producer Ivan Raimi, Actors Alison Lohman, Dileep Rao And Lorna Raver, Director Of Photography Peter Deming, Production Designer Steve Saklad, Artist Christian Cordella, Make-Up Effects Designer Greg Nicotero, Editor Bob Murawski, Composer Christopher Young, And More!: Running around 115 minutes, this is a superb documentary that draws from talent on both sides of the camera to cover the film’s inception, production, release, and legacy. There are some key people missing, which is a shame, but to get a new featurette like this put together year later is an admirable achievement
- “To Hell And Back” – 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.
- “Curses” – Interview With Actress Lorna Raver: A rather fun discussion with Mrs. Ganush herself.
- “Hitting All The Right Notes” – 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.
- Production Video Diaries Featuring Behind-The-Scenes Footage And Interviews With Sam Raimi, Actors Alison Lohman And Justin Long, And More: A nice featurette that immerses the viewer in the production side of the film, with some good interview footage too.
- Vintage Interviews: Clips from the film’s press tour. Similar information to that contained in the production diaries.
- Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots, & Image Gallery
The differences in the two editions is down to a few frames and sequences running a little longer, pushing a bit more into queasy. blood-soaked, squeamish moments. The adds only add up to a few seconds extra footage, but they do give the unrated version of the film a bit more of an edge.
The Bottom Line
Drag Me to Hell is unabashedly fun. A film where horror elements are rooted in gross physicality, and its mean spirit is tempered by lashings of black comedy. Perfectly blending Sam Raimi’s talents. Shout! Factory has put together a great release, one that delivers a quality 4K transfer with a nice selection of legacy extra features and the added bonus on a new documentary that celebrates the legacy of the Lamia.
Drag Me to Hell is available via Shout! Factory on 4K-UHD now
Also available, exclusively on Shoutfactory.com, is a Drag Me To Hell [Collector’s Edition] release that includes 2 exclusive posters and an exclusive slipcover featuring never-before-seen art by the late Famous Monsters of Filmland artist, Basil Gogos!
