Movies
B-D Gets an Early Look at Sam Raimi’s ‘Drag Me to Hell’!
It’s coming… Sam Raimi’s big return to horror. You’ve been waiting 16 years for this and now on May 29th you’ll get Drag Me to Hell, thanks to Universal Pictures. Last night I snuck into an early test screening of the film in Burbank, CA. Beyond the break you can read my early thoughts on the work-in-progress, which is an original tale of a young woman’s desperate quest to break an evil curse.
**Spoilers follow**
Sam Raimi, where have you been?
It has technically been 16 years since the legendary director has got behind the camera for a horror film. After ARMY OF DARKNESS failed to perform at the box office, the creator of THE EVIL DEAD franchise moved away from horror and into the mainstream fold. Now, after directing three SPIDER-MAN films and becoming one of the biggest names in the industry, Raimi has returned to the genre he started in.
While Raimi returned to horror with Universal Pictures’ DRAG ME TO HELL, I can’t say I was waiting with open arms. I felt wounded and insulted that we still haven’t received our EVIL DEAD 4 and didn’t understand why he’d do DRAG instead of another adventure of Ashley J. Williams. Therefore, my expectations were extremely low and I was convinced I’d be disappointed with his big return to horror. I was wrong.
Last night my curiosity got the best of me as I snuck into a test screening of DRAG ME TO HELL in Burbank, CA. To be clear, what I saw was a very early workprint of the film, which featured a temp score, unfinished effects, and was projected on a Digit Beta (yet to be color corrected). To put it simply, it’s far from completed. Still, even through all of the rough edges, Raimi proved that he is still a master filmmaker.
DRAG ME TO HELL was quite simply the most PERFECT horror film I’ve seen in a long, long while. Raimi stirs a delicious witches brew that blends gore, scares and fun into a perfect blend. The flavor of Raimi’s directing ability is brought out by masterful editing by Bob Murowski (Army of Darkness) as every scare is perfectly timed, every gag is delivered with a punch and all of the payoffs are perfectly executed.
HELL is like a comic book come to life that is full of color characters, crazy imagery and cheap gags that work every single time. Raimi plays around with the audience by using the gross-out factor to the max. For example, in one scene Alison Lohman starts bleeding from her mouth, and when she goes to cover it, blood shoots from her nose all over the place. Another great gag is the gypsy is constantly is losing her dentures and pushing her disgusting old mouth on things (like Alison’s face). Raimi fills the movie with these gross-out moments that keep the momentum burning from start to finish.
And for every bloody, gooey and disgusting scene, Raimi gives us an equally good scare. It has been a long, long time since I’ve experienced an authentic jump in a movie. Typically a director will have a cat jump on screen or have a character slam a door shut – something cheap to get you to jolt. Raimi hits us with a barrage of punches as I jumped ten feet out of my seat on two separate occasions. He proves that he is a master of horror and suspense and I recommend that any horror filmmaker wannabe (pretty much every horror director out there) watch this work to learn how to do it right.
Quite simply put, DRAG ME TO HELL was a blast and moved quickly from start to finish. Whether or not the acting is top notch, or if the story even makes sense is inconsequential so long as I’m gasping, jumping, laughing and cringing every step of the way. From what I saw, DRAG ME TO HELL is well on its way to becoming an immediate classic (considering they don’t f*ck up the finished version). The only question I was left with was, “Why isn’t this EVIL DEAD 4?”
This week’s big new horror release is of course Evil Dead Burn in theaters later in the week, but you don’t have to wait until this weekend to inject fresh nightmares into your eyeballs.
Five brand new horror movies have already released at home this week.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Tuesday, July 7, 2026!
Director André Øvredal’s (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Last Voyage of the Demeter) new movie Passenger is now available on Digital at home.
Here’s the synopsis for Passenger: “A few weeks into their van life adventure, a young couple witnesses a horrific accident that leaves the driver dead. Soon they’re being pursued by a demonic stalker who’s impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.”
André Øvredal told Bloody Disgusting in an exclusive chat, “It’s a road movie, which is what I really fell in love with. It’s totally unique for me as a horror movie. Bridging the road movie with a haunting, essentially, on the road. I think it’s the scariest movie I’ve made.”
The cast includes Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Tony Doupe, Bonni Dichone, Devielle Johnson, Jessica Cruz, Miles Fowler, and Alan Trong.
The screenplay is written by Zachary Donohue (The Den) and T.W. Burgess (Mister Howl). Former Warner Bros production executive Walter Hamada, who steered the Conjuring and It franchises, is producing via his 18hz as part of his first-look deal with Paramount. It screenwriter Gary Dauberman is also producing via Coin Operated.
Supernatural horror, psychological suspense, and an eye-catching creature take center stage in The Leaching, now available on Digital from Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment.
“After waking up in a grave on her father’s isolated forest property with no idea of who she is or how she got there, Vivian must use her limited memory to piece together the nightmarish truth, all the while being tormented by the undead, a giant leech monster, and her ‘father.’
“Over the next few days, she will uncover the framework of a truly nefarious supernatural scheme, but will it be too late?”
The Leaching is written and directed by Evan Showalter (Ante Mortem, Bad Music Terry).
“The Leaching is an exploration of faith, the loss of self, and the monsters (literally) that emerge when people surrender themselves to something greater than they can understand,” says Showalter. “It’s an isolating horror film that plays with a very uncomfortable question.”
A film student finds herself trapped in a giallo nightmare in lo-fi horror movie City Wide Fever, which is now streaming exclusively on the Midnight Pulp streaming service.
The meta horror movie is from debut writer/director Josh Heaps.
In City Wide Fever, “Sam, a young film student, discovers a USB detailing the life and career of forgotten Italian horror director Saturnino Barresi.
“As she begins to investigate his mysterious disappearance, Sam finds herself pulled into a violent conspiracy eerily similar to those of the films she adores.”
Diletta Guglielmi, Angelica Kim, and Nancy Kimball star with Onur Tukel (Summer of Blood), Larry Fessenden (You’re Next), Carolyn Farina, and comedian Ian Fidance.
Paul Lê wrote in his review for Bloody Disgusting, “This isn’t just a case of throwback filmmaking that’s been achieved with contemporary technology; the director used era-authentic equipment to help create this striking and nostalgic piece of modern horror. The end result is a movie… teeming with enough verve and style to make it feel fresh.”
A Gen Z slasher that pays homage to ’90s teen slasher movies, You’re Dead to Me is now available on Digital outlets at home courtesy of distributor Dark Star Pictures.
In the slasher film, “Three high school seniors skip prom for a secluded weekend party free from parents, school, and responsibility, but their escape turns terrifying when they learn one of their classmates has been brutally murdered.”
Denise Richards (Valentine) stars alongside Siena Agudong (Sidelined: The QB and Me, Sidelined 2: Intercepted), Jessica Belkin (“Baywatch” ), Ella Anderson (“Henry Danger,” Song Sung Blue), and Conor Husting (“Boo, Bitch”, Hollywood Stargirl).
The film was directed by Juan Pablo Arias Munoz.
You’re Dead to Me was co-written by Sarah Howard and Terry Castle, the daughter of the legendary producer and filmmaker William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler).
Steven Quale (Into the Storm, Final Destination 5) directed the supernatural thriller Black Box, which has now taken flight on Digital outlets courtesy of Aura Entertainment.
The film is based on the short film The Vessel, and an original screenplay from horror writer Stephen Susco (The Grudge, The Grudge 2, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Hell Fest).
Black Box (Flight 298) follows the supernatural events surrounding Vero Airlines 298 from New Orleans to Seattle.
Tom Brittney, Holly Leena White, Betsy Blue English, Dane Whyte O’Hara, Kaja Chan, Asa Ali, Boadicea Ricketts, Ceallach Spellman, Georgina Leonidas, Molly Belle Wright, Hanneke Talbot, Danny Mack, and Weronika Rosati star in Black Box.
Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici (Barbarian, Boy Kills World) and Jon Oakes (Drive, The Guilty) will produce alongside Capstone’s Christian Mercuri and David Haring (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Warren Zide (The Final Destination, American Pie), and Susco. Ruzanna Kegeyan and Roman Viaris of Capstone, and Clark Baker (Vessel) will executive produce.
What happened to Flight 298? Find out on Digital outlets now.
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