Drag Me to Hell [2009]
*Quick note: if you’re a native Spanish speaker, ignore the first scene. It lacks most of the impact it should have because the actors’ accents and pronunciation are so weird they’re distracting. The movie would’ve done very well without it, since it’s unnecessary exposition.
Drag me to Hell kicks things off with a marvelous, eerie opening credit sequence, unmistakably influenced by director Sam Raimi’s experience with movies based on comic books (he helmed the Spider-Man trilogy, with varying levels of success). I watched this movie when it hit theaters almost three years ago and it’s the last horror film I’ve truly liked. All the glowing praise that The Cabin in the Woods has received inspired me to give it another spin.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie that weaves horror and comedy together so seamlessly (for the most part, anyway; that goat scene was pushing it) especially when the devices to get laughs or chills are so extremely over the top. An ominous score by Christopher Young, gross-out visuals and ghastly visual effects add to the fun and give it a nostalgic vibe. Alison Lohman makes for a very good scream queen, while Justin Long is pretty decent, playing against type. Like I said, this is a very humorous chiller, but psychics Rham Jas (Dileep Rao; Inception) and Shaun San Dena (Adriana Barraza) are dead serious. Rao is suitably mysterious and Barraza, who really should get a new agent, is great in her first half-decent role after being Oscar-nominated in 2006 for Babel. The Raimi brothers (Ivan co-wrote) close the show with one of the best endings I can remember; somewhat predictable but not any less shocking because of that.
I didn’t think that this was an awesome horror flick but it was still fun and showed that Raimi still had his creepy chops. Can’t wait to see what he does with OZ. Good review.
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Thanks!
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I need to give this another watch since I don’t remember too much about it. I’m pretty sure I own it on Blu-Ray
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How could you be pretty sure? Do you own that many movies?? 😀
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Haha, yeah…I do…But I also sell them regularly so I have to keep a spreadsheet of what I actually have
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I actually tried to make an Excel spreadsheet, as well, of the films I own. I separate them among the family movies and the non-family movies, so I still have to input the family movies that I own, but I have put down about 90 DVDs in my possession. I plan to sell a few of them (i.e. Sicko, Psycho III) because I wasn’t too pleased with them, but I have to buy time in order to do that.
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I really need to do that, too. Sometimes I lend movies to friends and I never see them again 😦 and what’s worse is that I don’t remember which movie I lent to which friend.
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Haha wow. There’s only one friend I can remember loaning movies to (and we loan to each other quite often, since he owns just about every movie you can think of, and he buys every movie he sees in theaters, to add on to that). I once lent him the first season of The Walking Dead (one of the only TV seasons I have on DVD since I rarely watch TV but I LOVE that show), and I feared I was never going to get it back. He returned it after about five weeks, haha, but I guess it’s no match for your scenario. 🙂
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I guess you already know I love this movie. I agree with just about everything you said, even the first paragraph (I can’t say very much in Spanish, but I was given the impression of a dumb movie by the first scene…”¡Ayudame! ¡Ayudame!”). I love the last scene–it wasentirely predictable but nevertheless very creepy.
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If you check out my latest post, you’ll notice I passed on to you the “7 x 7 Link Award”. Click here for more info:
http://themoviefreakblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/7-x-7-link-award/
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Thanks so much. Mark actually passed it on to me this morning as well, so now I’m doubly obligated to pass it on! I’ll take care of it this weekend.
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Drag Me to Hell isn’t the best horror film and contains many obvious scares, but it’s still incredibly creepy – that gypsy woman especially! Top review, Fernando!
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Thanks, Andy! The creepy feel is the film’s best asset in my opinion. And the balance between horror and comedy.
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It’s interesting to hear your note about how the introduction might be different to Spanish speakers. I’ve never thought of that before, but that probably happens in a lot of movies. I wonder if I’d feel the same if I were to watch a Spanish movie with small English parts.
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It happens too. I live in Tijuana, right next to San Diego, CA, so I’ve been hearing people speak English all my life and I’ve grown up in an environment where speaking English is completely normal so yes, I sometimes catch on weird accents when they speak English in foreign movies.
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I liked the movie a lot, as I adore the mix of comedy and horror. Plus it was great to see Alison Lohman on screen again.
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Great review Fernando, someone told me the ending to this film so it’s ruined it a little for me. Still, that won’t put me off seeing it. I’m such a wuss though I’m not sure I can handle the terror!
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I bet you will. It’s mixed with comedy, so it’s easier to digest. Fun, fun movie.
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Good stuff – and I loved this film; Dileep Rao is hugely underrated.
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I agree. He was pretty good here and in Inception.
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