Editorials
Does ‘Drag Me to Hell’ Take Place in the ‘Evil Dead’ Universe?
Modern cinema’s grasp on what constitutes a sequel, remake, spiritual successor, or reboot is tumultuous at best – is Better Luck Tomorrow part of the Fast & Furious franchise, for example? While this may sound like a rather broad stroke, it is one that is easily narrowed when pertaining to the realm of horror. Be it an unofficial Italian sequel (featuring a kick ass zombie vs. shark fight) or a tacked on post-credits scene, horror films have a wide array of slapdash world-building tools at their disposal, which are utilized to create uneven (and often maligned) results.
The one horror franchise that has transcended the constraints of trying to keep a cinematic barge afloat in a sea of studio politics, financial limitations, and creative differences is Sam Raimi’s beloved Evil Dead series. Fans and critics alike have embraced the inconsistencies, contradictions, and retcons between films and championed Evil Dead’s laissez faire attitude when it comes to storytelling. This is so omnipresent within the series that there is still debate/confusion/anxiety over whether or not Fede Álvarez’s 2013 film Evil Dead is a remake, a reboot, or a quasi-sequel (or perhaps all three?).
If a movie with the same name as the film it’s remaking or rebooting or who-the-hell-knows-what-ing can’t even be clear on the subject, I feel it is not out of the question that Sam Raimi’s underappreciated 2009 splatstick masterpiece Drag Me to Hell is part of this mad, mad, demon-filled world.
Before we dive into the deep end, I want to make it clear that there will be spoilers for Drag Me to Hell, all four official Evil Dead movies, and the first two seasons of Starz’s “Ash Vs. Evil Dead” television series in this article. Big, bloody, spoilers. So, if you have not seen the aforementioned works, stop reading this, lock yourself in a room for the next 24 hours, and binge watch away. Trust me, you’ll be better for it.
Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way…
Aside from Sam Raimi directing the original Evil Dead trilogy and Drag Me to Hell, there is a lot of crimson connective tissue between them when it comes to the folks behind the camera. Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan share writing duties on Army of Darkness, the premiere episode of “Ash Vs Evil Dead,” and Drag Me to Hell. Producer Rob Tapert has bankrolled each of these projects. And Drag Me to Hell cinematographer Peter Deming was the director of photography on Evil Dead 2. While these were the names that jumped out at me, the list certainly goes on. Just go ask IMDb.
The other obvious standout when it comes to connecting Drag Me to Hell to the Evil Dead universe is the self-inflicted pastiche by Raimi and Co. Both properties center around an ancient evil stalking young people. This very familiar premise is translated to the audience through the subtle and wonderful use of predatory camera angles and the less subtle means of balls out demonic possession and physical assault (you know, the fun stuff). And with Evil Dead (2013) being the outlier, all these works feature a heavy dose of (mostly intentional) comedy companied with their buckets of…um, fluids.
But it doesn’t stop there…
The boldest evidence that really makes the strongest case for Drag Me to Hell’s existence in the world of Evil Dead is the iconography. Both works feature ceremonial daggers, dark grimoires filled with demon-summoning text that people love to read aloud for some reason, haunted relics, and, most importantly, demonologists.
When everyone’s favorite bone-headed demon hunter Ashley Williams made his return to the franchise in “Ash Vs. Evil Dead,” arguably the best addition to his world was awkward stock boy turned reluctant brujo Pablo Simon Bolivar, played by the insanely charismatic Ray Santiago. Pablo acts as a conduit between the horror occurring on screen and how it is presented to the viewer. This type of character has been used before in the Evil Dead films, but to a lesser extent. Professor Raymond Knowby can be heard on the recordings found by Ash and his friends in the first two films, regaling them with the horrors unleashed by the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. Ian Abercrombie also plays a similar role in Army of Darkness as the wise man who gives Ash instructions on how to reverse the tide of terror.
While Professor Knowby does play a larger part in the second season of “Ash Vs. Evil Dead” (and can also be heard in Evil Dead 2013), it is Pablo who inhabits that role for the duration of the series. He’s the guy who knows what’s going on, but doesn’t know that he knows it sometimes. It’s a wonderful place for a character to be and he carries out his duties without forcefully propelling the story. Meanwhile, at the Drag Me to Hell camp, half the goddamn cast is that character. Be it the curse-barking Mrs. Ganush or the humble fortune-telling Rham or the maniacal séance-conducting Shaun San Dena, Drag Me to Hell pushed the supernatural savvy archetype to the forefront of its story and lets these characters breathe life into their world.
There is one thing, though…
The one missing link is Bruce Campbell, of course. Ash makes no appearance in Drag Me to Hell – if he had been seen gawking from the train station platform as Christine is in fact dragged to hell by ravenous demons, this article would not exist. In the minds of many fans, Ash popping up would instantly make it Evil Dead canon. Case closed. But even with the absence of Ash, I feel it would be foolish to brush Drag Me to Hell aside, since characters do not have to be a defining factor in continuity.
The Purge Anarchy has none of the original cast or characters from the first film and the series shifted from the home invasion genre to a late ‘70s era Walter Hill-style dystopian thriller. Yet we all agree that these two films are connected because of their iconography and their inciting event which is The Purge itself (and, of course the title of the film).
The same can be said for George Romero’s Living Dead film cycle, in which none of the characters or titles are consistent, but we consider them to exist in the same world because, well…because zombies and George told us so. But this furthers the point that characters do not dictate continuity. The fact that the Evil Dead films exist in Ash’s world is not defined by Ash, himself. Quite the contrary: the world of Evil Dead validates Ash’s existence.
This begs the question: short of using the same cast, characters, and adding numbers or sub-titles to the name of the film, what components of a film make a follow up a true-blue sequel?
It’s up to you…
If nothing else, Drag Me to Hell is an “unofficial” film in the Evil Dead universe. All the hallmarks that make Evil Dead wonderful are present: gore, humor, demons, screaming animal heads, more gore, etc. I watched a nice little double feature of Evil Dead 2 and Drag Me to Hell while working on this article, and let me tell you, those two films go together better than Revenge of the Sith and The Empire Strikes Back. Their tones mirror each other wonderfully and complement one another like a bottle of Merlot and a can of squeeze cheese (I am a classy man).
So, does Drag Me to Hell take place in the Evil Dead universe? Honestly, it’s up to you. If you’re willing to accept the disparity within other film franchises, maybe we all should welcome Drag Me to Hell with open arms and bring it into the fold of one of our great horror universes.
After all, what’s in a name?
Even after decades of masked killers armed with increasingly ludicrous weapons, cinemagoers still flock to theaters to experience the raw thrills of watching homicidal maniacs hunt the most dangerous game. And while there’s nothing wrong with filmmakers choosing to rely on tried-and-true formulas when depicting classic cat-and-mouse conflicts, the sheer amount of these movies means that horror fans often find themselves wishing for riskier takes on these familiar ideas.
Thankfully, there are some brave filmmakers out there that use of the basic premise of a slasher as a jumping off point to tell more creative stories. A recent example of this is Chris Nash’s highly ambitious In a Violent Nature, a Friday-the-13th-inspired horror film told from the melancholy perspective of the undead killer himself. And with the film impressing genre fans with its artsy reinvention of common clichés, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six other experimental slashers for discerning horror fans to watch before checking out Nash’s somber mood piece.
Naturally, six features are just a drop in the bucket when compared to the vast selection of creative slashers available out there in the wild (i.e. streaming services), so don’t forget to comment below with your own strange and horrific favorites if you think we missed a particularly odd one.
With that out of the way, onto the list.
6. Rubber (2010)
There’s nothing wrong with a one-trick pony so long as the trick is reasonably entertaining, and that’s precisely why Rubber makes it onto this list as an unexpectedly clever slasher with a meta twist. Boasting a premise so silly that it could have been a Tim & Eric sketch (with the film following the exploits of a homicidal tire inexplicably gifted with telekinetic powers), newcomers might be surprised to learn that there’s a lot more to this absurdist parable than initially meets the eye.
Defying expectations, French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux uses the inherent ridiculousness of Rubber to explore and question exactly what motivates viewers to seek out self-indulgent cinema – all the while providing us with some genuinely funny fourth-wall breaks.
5. Funny Games (1997/2007)
I know that placing Funny Games and its remake in the number 5 spot technically makes this a Top-7 list (and the low body-count means that some might consider it more of a home-invasion thriller than a true slasher), but the fact is that both versions of this terrifying classic are worth seeking out for different reasons.
Directed by Michael Haneke, both the original film and its American remake tell the story of a family being attacked by a duo of psychotic young men engaged in an increasingly sadistic “game.” Equal parts brutal and witty, this is another case of a genre-savvy filmmaker flipping familiar tropes on their heads in order to explore our voyeuristic fascination with violence in film.
I’d just recommend skipping this one for family movie night.
4. Malevolence (2004)
Mike Holtz already did a wonderful job unpacking this underrated indie gem in its own article, so suffice to say that Stevan Mena’s Malevolence is a must watch for John Carpenter fans looking for a slasher with more metaphorical meat on its bones. It may not seem all that original on the surface, especially where presentation is concerned, but it’s the implied backstory about nature vs nurture that makes this such a fascinating watch (especially during repeat viewings).
The low budget and heavy-handed Halloween inspiration may not be to everyone’s liking, but I still think that this is one of the best examples of a “serious” slasher that focuses more on storytelling than gore. And if you like this one, I’d also recommend checking out the prequel (Bereavement) and sequel (Malevolence 3: Killer), all produced by the same team.
3. Triangle (2009)
I can’t really get into the details of what makes this film an “experimental” slasher without completely spoiling the surprise, so I’ll just have to urge readers to check this one out immediately without looking up anything else about it beforehand. However, if you’ve already seen Christopher Smith’s mind-bending thriller, you’ll know exactly how it manages to reinvent a tired scary movie formula.
Taking inspiration from classics like The Shining and Jacob’s Ladder while also placing our characters in a criminally underused setting in horror (an abandoned ocean liner!), Triangle is the rare kind of horror movie that works even better on a re-watch.
Plus, the flick stars underrated Scream Queen Melissa George in one of her most memorable roles.
2. Maniac (2012)
The original Maniac is one hell of a gnarly exploitation flick, but I’d argue that it’s since been overshadowed by its insanely ambitious remake. Directed by genre veteran Franck Khalfoun and written by Alexandre Aja alongside Grégory Levasseur, this unexpectedly moving slasher miraculously uses a first-person perspective to make audiences sympathize with a reluctant madman.
Featuring quite a few memorable performances (I simply adore Elijah Wood’s voicework here as the murderous protagonist), as well as some impressive camerawork and a plethora of genuinely horrific death scenes, the 2012 film is a veritable smorgasbord of terrifying delights made more impactful by a deeply introspective script.
1. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2007)
From Scream to The Cabin in the Woods, only a handful of horror films have successfully managed to subvert the tropes that made the genre so popular in the first place. And what do these films all have in common? They’re written by people who genuinely love the movies that they’re satirizing. And if you’re going to judge the quality of a satire according to how passionate the filmmakers are about the material they’re commenting on, 2007’s Behind the Mask is clearly among the very best.
A comedic fusion of tongue-in-cheek mockumentary filmmaking with an earnest dissection of classic slasher flicks, there’s a reason why hardcore fans have been clamoring for a sequel to Scott Glosserman’s opus for nearly two decades. And while the film lures audiences into a false sense of security with its wacky humor, the final act proves that Leslie Vernon is right up there with Michael, Jason and Freddy when it comes to having a killer instinct.
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