Heck!

Movie: "Drag Me To Hell"
Year: 2009
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Horror / Suspense
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi

Sam Raimi, the venerable horror director, returns to a genre he nearly perfect after 22 years. Drag Me to Hell, a movie based on a script written as far back as the early 90s, is finally hitting theatres. I cannot tell you how excited I was, about a year ago, to find out Raimi was returning to horror. Adding to the fact the title of the the film was DRAG ME TO HELL. I couldn't wait. I couldn't help imagining the balls-to-the-wall experience only Raimi can provide. Then, I saw the trailer. I was not grab, in fact, I was worried. Worried that, like many other movies made by Ghost House pictures - A company owned by Sam - it was going to be a lame, tame, uninspired garb. Plus, a PG-13 rating? Come on! YOU DID EVIL DEAD 2!

Regardless, I solider on and I have seen Drag Me to Hell. Now, it it any good?

For the most part: Yes.

This movie has everything you'd expect from Raimi. It is frenetic, over-the-top, hilarious, and grueling. Even after the convoluted nature of Spider-Man 3, Raimi proves he is still able to produce a good straight-forward horror movie. He hasn't gone soft. He's left emo Peter far behind and is ready to punch to audience in the face. Many people may see the PG-13 rating as a hindrance, but Raimi pushes the bounders of the rating. He includes all the sick bits you would see in an Evil Dead movie, just not as much.

I do have to say one thing about this, however. For the most part the film relies on jump-scares, as do many PG-13 rated horror films. However, the movie has a weird rhythm. I would consider myself a horror expert (I'm going to say, yes, I have watched 10,000 hours of horror movies) and even I couldn't tell when things were going to pop out of nowhere to scare you. You know how most of these films use their scores to scare you? Everything goes quiet and then BOOM! In Drag Me to Hell Christopher Young's score is at full blast the entire time. You never feel like you have control over the situation and it's perfect.

If you're an Evil Dead fan, like me, you'll have a lotta fun with this movie. The references are everywhere. You could consider this entire movie a reference to Evil Dead 2 and if you're a huge nerd about it, there is one moment that will warm your heart. (Seriously, I can't believe they included that.) Both movies have the same feel thanks to Peter Deming's wild cinematography.

Now a few things bug me. For one thing, I don't like Justin Long. I don't think I ever will. He just... I don't know, rubs me the wrong way. There is no Bruce Campbell. For a movie soaking in Evil Dead, why couldn't Ash poke his head in for a second. Yes, you hear Campbell's voice, but that's not enough. I think there were too many gross out scares and that the movie relied on them a little to strongly. Lastly, the ending... that ending. It's not bad. It works. It could be seen as funny. It felt mean to me. I could feel the rug as it was pull out from under me. I liked that rug. Give it back.

Is Sam Raimi back? Well, He never went anywhere. Spider-Man 3 had problems but was passable. Ok, wait... Is horror-movie-making Sam Raimi back? Possibly. If he decides to stop worrying about money and goes all out making a hard R horror movie then I would say so. For now, he is just vacationing in a town where he used to live. A town in which he was very popular and important. The citizens are asking you to stay a little bit longer, Sam, so why don't you?