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In Defense Of Sam Raimi’s ‘Drag Me to Hell’

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Article by Trace Thurman

Full confession: I love horror comedies. Any movie from Evil Dead 2 all the way to the more recent Cabin in the Woods holds a special place in my heart. That is why it really bums me out that more people don’t like Drag Me to Hell . There are even horror buffs like myself, who swear by director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy, who hate Drag Me to Hell. Since I fell in love with the sub-genre when I saw Critters (a hilarious ’80s creature feature that is essentially a rip-off of Gremlins) as a child, I have always tried to watch all of the horror comedies that came out (many of the ones that released nowadays see rave reviews but also very low box office numbers). Drag Me to Hell is one of my favo

Horror comedies are a tough sell. Years ago, when I was a junior in college working at Blockbuster (yes, Blockbuster), I got a lot of insight as to what kinds of movies people my age liked and what they didn’t. Horror comedies were definitely on the “dislike” list. There was the occasional film that everyone loved and thought was hilarious (Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland) but for the most part, they just weren’t anyone’s cup of tea. Take this list of movies and think about any of them that you like (although if you are reading this post you probably actually do like most of them):

  • Gremlins
  • Gremlins 2: The New Batch
  • Tremors
  • Evil Dead 2
  • Army of Darkness
  • Fright Night
  • Ghostbusters
  • Dead Alive
  • Misery
  • This is the End
  • Hatchet
  • Ghostbusters
  • Beetlejuice
  • Zombieland
  • An American Werewolf in London
  • The Cabin in the Woods
  • Sorority Row
  • Snakes on a Plane
  • Scream
  • Slither
  • Piranha 3D
  • Drag Me to Hell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of these are very obviously comedies with elements of horror (Shaun of the Dead, Ghostbusters, This is the End) and others are horror movies with elements of comedy (Misery, Gremlins, Fright Night). Obviously, your enjoyment of any of these movies depends on your sense of humor, but I have to tell you that they are all in the same genre. Out of that list, the films that seem to have the lowest standing in the mainstream are Slither, Piranha 3D, Sorority Row and Drag Me To Hell. With the exception of Sorority Row, all of those movies received very good reviews (I still love Sorority Row, but that’s a discussion for another post), with Drag Me to Hell scoring the best reviews at 216 positive and 19 negative, for a 92% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Alright, enough of the history lesson. Let’s get down to the meat of things. While working at Blockbuster, I loved to recommend Drag Me to Hell to customers, but I quickly learned that I had to recommend it with a bit of a precursor. People would return it (and the other movies listed in the above paragraph) and tell me how stupid each one is and that they weren’t scary at all. I realized something: no one knew that they were watching comedies.

Granted, Drag Me to Hell kind of screwed itself over with its trailer:

By marketing itself as a pure horror movie, the movie had already firmly cemented the expectations for anyone walking into it. If you didn’t read any reviews or articles about the film, you would enter the theater expecting “the return of true horror.” This they most definitely did not get. Drag Me to Hell is a fun, goofy little horror movie and you really have to know that to get the most enjoyment out of it. It has a lot of cheap jump scares to pump some adrenaline through the audience, but is it a truly terrifying film? Not really (one caveat for this answer would be the final scene of the film, but more on that later). This is not to say there aren’t serious aspects to the film. There are scary moments and genuinely disturbing moments (in the film’s opening scene, a small child is literally dragged to Hell), but overall it blends the comedy in with the horror seamlessly.

What puzzles me most is that many of the people that didn’t like the movie actually thought it was trying to be serious. It seems that the more straightforwardly comedic the movie is (Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland), the more people seem to like it. But if a film has too much horror in it, then audiences will view the comedic aspects of the film as “stupid.” My only response to that is the infamous cursing-goat scene in the film. How could anyone think a movie in which a goat gets possessed and starts slinging obscenities at the lead character is anything but hilarious (and not trying to take itself seriously)? I mean, look at this:

How do you not laugh at that? Or better yet, how do you watch that and still think that you are watching a serious horror film? Drag Me to Hell is full of moments of humor (the superbly choreographed parking garage fight scene, the literal geyser of a nosebleed, the Looney Toons-ish anvil-on-the-head gag, I could go on) so it’s not like the talking goat just comes out of nowhere. This is such an enjoyable film and I’m just puzzled as to why I seem to be in the minority with this one.

To anyone who has not seen this movie, Drag Me to Hell tells the story of Christine Brown, a bank loan officer who refuses to extend a mortgage payment to an old gypsy woman named Sylvia Ganush. Mrs. Ganush curses Christine with the Lamia, a goat demon that will mess with her for three days before finally dragging her to Hell to burn for all eternity.

Lorna-Raver

I get it, it doesn’t exactly sound like the lightest material; and I actually jumped a lot throughout the film. I don’t really qualify “jump scares” as being actually scary, but this movie kind of toyed with your expectations of the jumps and clearly has a lot of fun doing it. That’s all I can really say about how to enjoy this movie as a horror comedy. If you’re not sold with that then you probably won’t find anything to enjoy about the movie, and I feel bad for you.

Moving on to just why this is a good movie, I have to start with the performances. Alison Lohman is put through a lot in Drag Me to Hell (especially when it comes to various things flying into her mouth) and I applaud her for putting up with a lot of this stuff. Ellen Page was originally cast as Christine but dropped out do star in Drew Barrymore’s Whip It. When she left, Alison Lohman was cast and, even though she is a lesser-known actress, I’m really glad. Lohman sells the part of a former fat girl who just wants to move up in her career and have a steady relationship with her boyfriend (Justin Long). You actually feel for her when bad things happen to her (and trust me, they happen). Speaking of Long, he gets the thankless boyfriend role but he does get some good moments to play against-type (unless you’ve seen Jeepers Creepers).

You also can’t talk about Drag Me to Hell without mentioning the villainess herself. Lorna Raver doesn’t have a lot of screen time as Mrs. Ganush, but damn if she doesn’t leave a lasting impression. She is one of the most hateful, disgusting, and unlikable characters I have ever seen put to film, and I am surprised the actress agreed to do the role considering all of the things she was required to do (see below) Raver infuses Mrs. Ganush with a menace that you feel throughout the entire film, and you learn to hate her so much that you actually begin to enjoy when gross things happen to her.

Drag-Me-to-Hell1

Sam Raimi does a great job directing (and co-writing, with his brother Ivan) the film as well. Although many horror fans were disappointed that his return to the horror genre was not Evil Dead 4 (which is fine considering we got an Evil Dead remake 4 years later), you would be hard-pressed not to see the influence those films had on the making of Drag Me to Hell. The CGI he chooses to use is laughably bad in some parts (although that may have been intentional) so I do wish he would have used more practical effects like he used to, but that may have been in an attempt to get a PG-13 rating. Nevertheless, Raimi is trying something (sort of) new here and I believe it works.

***SPOILER ALERT***

Finally, the reason why I think this movie works is the ending. If you’ve never seen the movie, stop reading now if you don’t want to know how it ends. What I love most about Drag Me to Hell is that even though there is a lot of comedy in the film, it is book-ended by completely horrifying, serious scenes. As I mentioned earlier, a young boy is dragged to Hell in the opening scene of the film. In the finale, Christine does indeed get dragged into Hell to burn for all eternity as her boyfriend (who was about to propose to her) helplessly watches from above before the film cuts to a black screen with nothing but the film’s title showing.

I admit, when I first saw the movie, I was kind of angry. I didn’t want Christine to go to Hell because she had done nothing wrong (reading online, you can actually see people debating whether or not she deserved it based solely on the fact that she refused to extend Mrs. Ganush’s mortgage payment, or for sacrificing her cat to the Lamia in exchange for her life which….ugh). I fully expected Christine to survive by passing the curse on to her annoying co-worker Stu. But alas, it was not meant to be. Sam Raimi wanted to sucker punch the audience and in my case, he did. I walked out of the theater (both times I saw it) quite depressed. This tonal shift may have been too jarring for the audience and further confused them as to just what kind of movie they were watching. I totally understand that. It took me several viewings of Drag Me to Hell to get over it (and it still packs an emotional punch even though I know it’s coming every time I watch it).

That being said, I think that is the point (if there is a “point” to Drag Me to Hell other than to entertain). We are supposed to care about Christine and hope the worst for Mrs. Ganush. If we didn’t, then the ending wouldn’t have the effect it does. In the end, Drag Me to Hell becomes the ultimate tragedy. After everything Christine went through (and she went through a lot in three days), she couldn’t save herself. It is just very jarring to have the movie be so silly and then be slammed with an ending like that. That is probably why the opening scene was what it was: to remind the audience that even though Raimi knows how to have fun, he can still stick it where it hurts.

Drag-Me-to-Hell

With all of that being said, I hope you give Drag Me to Hell a second chance. It really is a great movie with a lot of moving parts that work perfectly together 99% of the time. Like most of the movies in my “In Defense Of” columns, it’s not for everyone, but I think if you watch it again from a new perspective (or for the first time at least knowing what you’re getting in to), you will enjoy Drag Me to Hell. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

This article originally appeared on Wine and Watch.

ABOUT TRACE: Trace is a graduate of the Radio/TV/Film program University of Texas at Austin and still lives in Austin. An avid fan of the horror genre, he spends most of his free time reading about/watching movies and TV shows and endlessly harassing his friends to watch underrated gems. He has a strong dislike for the lack of tact/respect present on Internet message boards and is on a mission to promote thoughtful, polite discussions between people who disagree about things online.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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