Drag Me To Hell

[woodycakes]

Even nice people can go to hell[All Movie Photos]I am a self-proclaimed wuss. I'm not a fan of horror flicks and I get freaked out really easily. But because _lexizzle's here and I just can't say no to my prodigal brother, I drove him and Pio to Trinoma yesterday to scare ourselves with the Sam Raimi directed Drag Me To Hell.

Other than the fact that I felt quasi-safe, seated in between my two very big younger brothers, I was actually kind of curious to see this movie as it got rated with the third highest rating for a movie this 2009 following Up which I have yet to watch and Star Trek.

And I don't think I've seen actress Alison Lohman since Matchstick Men which I loved so it's nice to see how she's sort of 'all-grown-up.' Then you add the ever adorable Justin Long in the mix and it's definitely a go. Plus when one of my favorite sites Vulture says it's pretty good, who am I to argue, right?

The Critics Say

Grandma Ganush's Hanky has more power than youPhoto courtesy of All Movie PhotosDan Kois of the Washington Post said:As in the best horror movies, Drag Me to Hell keeps the audience on the edge of hysteria throughout, so that every thump sets the heart racing and every joke earns a slightly out-of-control laugh.
The crowd at the movie was a really good crowd in that it was so participative. So that when things were funny (usually thanks to Justin long) the crowd would laugh really loud. And at the same time, when things went Boo! The crowd would really gasp and shriek and it felt so much more fun.

Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald said:The movie is a goofy, ridiculous blast, and yet Raimi means business: Even the precociously cute kitty isn't safe in this one.
No one is apparently safe from projectile or harm in this movie. Though I'm not a fan of cats, I felt bad for the kitten in this movie. Thank goodness I didn't have to see it, but still, just the thought of it made me a little sick -- which means Sam Raimi's tricks are working.

James Berardinelli of the ReelViews said:Although Drag Me to Hell mostly fails as horror, it achieves sporadic success as a comedy.
I agreed with my brothers when after the movie, we didn't think it was much of a horror but more of a shock-fest. It had a lot of WTF moments and a lot of LoL moments but none really that kept me awake at night scared shitless the way Shutter did.

The Non-Critic (Me) Says

Justin Long Can Make Anything BetterPhoto courtesy of All Movie Photos

Alison Lohman does a pretty good 'good-girl' gone bad astray thanks to ambition. I know she's got more chops than this but seeing her go through mud and a scary grandma and sort of make it through alive is tough. So I give her props. It was such a physical role and I felt kinda bad for her, which probably means she was pretty effective.

Meanwhile Grandma Ganush, Lorna Raver is one scary grandmother. Seriously. I know it's a lot of make-up and prosthetics, but woman is fierce is totally terrifying. Especially when she suddenly appears in corners or behind drapes or in backseats, I swear her face freaks me out.

Justin Long has got to be my favorite part of this movie. I swear! Justin + the abundance of Mac products shown makes me laugh and seeing him with his stuck-up family or talking on the speakerphone while his girlfriend is outside his open door always puts a smile on my face. His comic timing was hilarious and he made me less scared when things weren't scary.

The beginning was kind of funny and the opening credits felt like "night of the living dead" or something like that, especially with the music. The vignette in the start was kind of hilarious, but the movie was a pretty good scream-fest.

The palm reader was hilarious. And the entire medium scene was just crazy. When the medium's sidekick gets possessed and starts dancing, I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to be freaked out because he looks hilarious. And talking Goats trump everything. That's CGI at its finest.

There is nothing subtle about this movie. It felt very campy and hilarious, but the good thing about it, is I don't think it really claimed to be one of those subtle "Sixth Sense" kind of scare fests. It was an in-your-face, phlegm/blood/stapler shooting kind of film and with that in mind, it totally worked.

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