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Amazon.co.uk Review
After dedicating himself for the best part of a decade to the Spider-Man franchise, director Sam Raimi returned to the horror genre with tremendous style in 2009 with Drag Me To Hell. A film that fused together the ethos of the director’s earlier Evil Dead movies with the toolbox of tricks that he’s picked up since doing big blockbuster movies, it’s a fabulously fun and quite unnerving piece of cinema.
Raimi’s working on a lower budget than we’ve seen him with for some time with Drag Me To Hell, but not for the first time, he makes every buck count. Few directors know the horror genre as well as Raimi, and he generates tension and jumps from clever set-ups and expertly executed sequences. Plus, he’s little intention of following the horror movie template here, which adds to the sheer entertainment factor.
So what’s so special about the Blu-ray? The extras package isn’t particularly enticing, after all. Yet the picture quality and quite stunning sound mix lift the film notably. The latter in particular, as the sound stage is swamped by subtle noises and audible shocks works extremely well, and is perhaps the best among a few reasons for considering a high-def upgrade here. A strong movie, wonderfully presented. --Jon Foster
DVD Description
Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead series) returns to the horror genre with Drag Me to Hell, an original tale of a young woman’s desperate quest to break an evil curse.
Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, Professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home.
In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse?
Special Features include:
Production Diaries: - The Bloody Nose - Inside the Psychic World - Make-up Effects - Justin Long Profile - Alison in the Mud - The Nightmare - Alison’s Wirework - The Parking Lot Fight - The Goat - Set Tour: The Great Room - Puzzle Car - Dragging Her to Hell - Sound Design
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A return to form for Raimi,
By Rob Payne "Rob P" (Birmingham, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Drag Me to Hell [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
After a brief foray into the mainstream with the decent but not outstanding Spiderman franchise, Sam Raimi makes a very welcome and long overdue return to the horror genre with `Drag me to Hell', a chaotic shock-fest so entertaining that it sits right up there with his two 80s classics; `The Evil Dead' and `Evil Dead II'. Like `Evil Dead II', Drag me to Hell is one of those rare beasts in horror cinema; a film that is intentionally funny and manages to be quite terrifying at the same time. It is a total blast from start to finish.Refreshingly, the subject matter could be considered rather simple and old-fashioned at a time when horror cinema releases are littered with those of the `torture-porn' variety. The plot concerns Loans Officer Christine (Alison Lohman) who turns down a request for a mortgage extension to an old, feral, one-eyed gypsy woman, a firm stand intended to impress her boss and increase her chances of promotion to assistant manager. Enraged, the gypsy woman attacks Christine in the car park and snatches a button from her coat, uttering a gypsy curse. From here, events take a turn for the worse for Christine as she discovers that she is to be taunted and bullied by cloven-hoofed demons for three days before being dragged down to hell to burn for eternity. Support for Christine in these dark times comes from Clay (Justin Long), her sceptical yet highly supportive boyfriend, himself a high flying academic from a wealthy background and whose mother disapproves of their relationship. In one of the most memorable scenes, Christine attempts to subdue the forces of evil while dining with Clay's posh parents for the first time. Today, too many films of the horror genre are made almost solely with shocking the audience in mind; limbs are hacked off, entrails are spilled, character development takes a back seat. But part of what makes Drag me to Hell so enjoyable is the utter likeability of its two leads. Lohman commits herself fully to a hugely physical role as she is bullied, thrown about and vomited upon. She is innocent enough for us to care for as a character, but feisty enough to be believable as she starts to fight back against her tormentors. This is the kind of film that Raimi was born to make, and it has his stamp and particular brand of chaotic and bizarre black humour all over it. Raimi is an absolute master of manipulation, and the scares and laughs come thick and fast, with plenty of gross-out moments. Projectile nose-bleeds, talking possessed goats and flying eyeballs are all on the agenda. Drag me to Hell is a film that has been skilfully created to make you jump, giggle and cringe in equal measure, and turns out to be one of the most enjoyable films in its genre for many years. 9.5/10.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Raimi Returns With A New Bag Of Tricks,
This review is from: Drag Me to Hell [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
I was hesitant but eager to believe the highly positive reviews of Drag Me To Hell, could it live up to an Evil Dead Fan's expetations?
I sat down to watch this film and found it to be a great roller-coaster-style thrill ride. If you don't enjoy horror movies that play with you and make you laugh and THEN scare you then this is definately NOT going to be your cup of tea. Sam Raimi's theory is that the build up to a joke and it's pay off with a punchline shares similarities with the build up to a scare. If you enjoy being manipulated in this way during scary movie you will have a blast! Now putting aside our preferences, the film making and technical craft on display here are just first class. There are nods to Hitchcock particularly in camerwork and some of the scares are achieved without CGI just imaginative sound and old school in-camera effects. An inspired idea based on the old myth of a gypsy curse is used to great effect here and Alison Lohman's performance holds the piece together well. I did feel though that during the seance part of the movie the director lost his way a little and embraced the cheese far too much along with the Loony Toons Anvil moment. After this section though the movie finds it's feet again and builds up to a spectacularly epic and cruel finale. I do feel this movie will be like marmite to audiences though. The best advice I can give is DO NOT watch it on a small sreen with poxy sound. You are missing out one of the best DTS Master Audio Transfers ever. After all, a great horror film is 90 per cent sound. I look forward to Raimi's next return to this mis-understood genre. A must watch (with the correct cinema sound)
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stellar supernatural horror pic with great fun mythology,
By Benminx "benminx" (Plymouth) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Drag Me to Hell [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
This is one of those horror films that manages to gloriously combine horrifying and frightening shocks with some truly funny comedy and keep its balance. The opening is a real shocker, and sets the tone of menace for the rest of the film as Alison Lohman's ambitious bank worker mistakenly turns down a mortgage extension for Lorna Raver's demented gypsy woman, and ends up cursed with the 'Larmia' - a malevolent spirit that will torment her and then 'drag her to hell' after 3 days unless she can find a way to wriggle out of her dilemma.
Lohman is sweet and funny as a gentle soul suddenly thrust into harm's way, and Justin Long is brilliant as her supportive boyfriend. All of the cast members excel, and Lorna Raver gives a barnstorming performance as the demented Mrs Ganush. The fear is built expertly by a series of creepy occurrences and great atmosphere until we're in no doubt that she's not crazy, and is really being hunted by something malicious and terrible. There's also a healthy ladling of comedy and awkwardness along the way. Where this misfired for me was in Raimi's urge to lean too far towards the silly in one scene where the bad guy starts dancing, which burst the tension for me since the rest of the scene was largely threatening and frightening, even at its most absurd. This one misfire aside, the rest of the film is an astonishing exercise in how to make the comedy funny, and the terror frightening, and feel you've given the audience a real emotional workout before one hell of a terrific finale. A tremendous film full of amazing talent.
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