DRAG ME TO HELL

[Starbreaker]

I wasn't interested in this film until I saw the reviews. It looks awesome now.

[galleywest]

Whatever you do, don't eat during this move. Seriously. Yeah, it's that kind of Raimi film.

I enjoyed it, it was definitely classic Raimi. There was a very high gross-out factor: scenes that you thought, wow, that's kinda gross just kept going....and going. The audience I was with was probably the most interactive I've had for a movie and overall had a good time and a good laugh. You could tell that a lot of them were really surprised by Raimi's style and were not expecting many of the horror scenes to play out the way they did. But it got a lot of laughs and a lot of "eeeeewwwww!"s

Mmmmmm, I'd have to say that I liked Army of Darkness better, but this was a very fun, stylized, classic horror movie. It almost had that 50s or 60s horror movie vibe to it, where the characters try a bit too hard to sell you the plot that's just a little too over-the-top. Does that make sense?

I can see why some people wouldn't like it--it's kinda like a Tarantino film, you either like his style or you don't (in Tarantino's case, I loathe it), and if you don't almost nothing will save the movie for you. So I completely understand why this movie is not going to be for everyone, not even all horror fans. It will, however, be a necessary addition to many fans DVD collections--it's the kind of movie that has a distinct presence in the horror genre. Above all, this movie has style.

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm not sure if I want to see this or not. Raimi was awesome back in the day, but after the Spider-Man movies he's become a bit of a sell-out. The PG-13 "horror" movies his Ghost House Pictures produces are a bunch of crap. The Grudge and Boogeyman were both crap. So, when I saw this movie was going to be Sam Raimi's "Big return to horror" I was a bit skeptic and when I saw the rating I figured it was going to be more of his usual tripe of late.

[Shaytan]

galleywest wrote:

---

Whatever you do, don't eat during this move. Seriously.

Or at least nothing vaguely green and/or vaguely liquid !

And I've heard that this film was just an appetizer for what Raimi intend to film later.

The audience I was with was probably the most interactive I've had for a movie and overall had a good time and a good laugh. You could tell that a lot of them were really surprised by Raimi's style and were not expecting many of the horror scenes to play out the way they did. But it got a lot of laughs and a lot of "eeeeewwwww!"s

Same thing here (in Paris). I have to add that since Wednesday (films are released on Wednesday) the cinema has moved the film to a bigger screen. It's quite successful here for this kind of film.
And like everyone in the cinema, I liked it, I'd give it 4 stars over 5.

[galleywest]

I'm surprised the Parisian audience is going for it, but happy! How do horror movies usually fare in France?

Turd Ferguson wrote:

---

I'm not sure if I want to see this or not. Raimi was awesome back in the day, but after the Spider-Man movies he's become a bit of a sell-out. The PG-13 "horror" movies his Ghost House Pictures produces are a bunch of crap. The Grudge and Boogeyman were both crap. So, when I saw this movie was going to be Sam Raimi's "Big return to horror" I was a bit skeptic and when I saw the rating I figured it was going to be more of his usual tripe of late.

I haven't seen Boogeyman but this was nothing like The Grudge, not even remotely. DMTH definitely has more of a sense of humor.

[FemurBone]

I just got back from seeing this. I thought it was good.

I'm not a big horror fan, but this film is definately one that will transend the genre sort of like The Ring and The Sixth Sense did. And guess what? This movie is actually scary; imagine that, a horror movie that's actually scary.

The plot is easy to follow and it doesn't leave you scratching your head thinking what the hell was that all about. Everything makes sense, except for all the dumb things some of the characters do, but I suppose that's pretty standard for horror films.

This is definately one you want to see in the theater. Preferably one with a packed crowd. I see some people saying they will wait for the DVD. Big mistake. You'll regret it later.

[Colonel Green]

I really enjoyed this movie. The pacing is good, it has some great comedic moments and some good scares. It's nice to see that there is still a market for non-torture porn horror films.

[Shaytan]

galleywest wrote:

---

I'm surprised the Parisian audience is going for it, but happy! How do horror movies usually fare in France?

Apparently (I can't be sure until the box office next week) it's the success of the week.
Horror movies have fans. Saw 4 was also the biggest success of the week of its release.

[Greg Cox]

Saw this last night. I thought it was a lot of fun: wild, horror slapstick in the tradition EVIL DEAD 2. About as subtle as a demon goat spraying vomit in your face, but what do you expect from a movie titled DRAG ME TO HELL?

I saw it at a suburban multiplex, but it was easy to imagine watching this at a drive-in or some scuzzy old Times Square grindhouse.

That's a recommendation, btw.

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm off to see this in a couple of hours. Convinced a friend who doesn't normally like horror to go with me.

[Greg Cox]

Turd Ferguson wrote:

---

I'm not sure if I want to see this or not. Raimi was awesome back in the day, but after the Spider-Man movies he's become a bit of a sell-out. The PG-13 "horror" movies his Ghost House Pictures produces are a bunch of crap. The Grudge and Boogeyman were both crap. So, when I saw this movie was going to be Sam Raimi's "Big return to horror" I was a bit skeptic and when I saw the rating I figured it was going to be more of his usual tripe of late.

It's probably worth pointing out that Raimi didn't direct the GRUDGE movies, BOOGEYMAN, etcetera. He just produced them. I think the last horror movie Raimi actually directed was THE GIFT, which was was pretty good.

[davejames]

**MILD SPOILERS**

Huh, surprised there aren't more reviews on here. Anyway, I really enjoyed it, even though I was kinda hoping it would be even MORE wild and outrageous and off-the-wall that it was.

I appreciate that Raimi was trying to tell a real, fleshed-out story with real characters (a rarity in horror movies nowadays), but somehow the movie felt a little TOO subdued and grounded. I really wanted to see him go a lot crazier, and throw all kinds of weird shit at the screen. Unfortunately though, most of the scares came either from shadows or from the old woman popping up out of nowhere-- which, well, started to get a bit old after awhile (although the attack in the parking garage was absolute BRILLIANCE). And the fact all the craziness was limited only to the girl was a bit disappointing too.

And as great as most of Raimi's direction was, his twist ending was made PAINFULLY obvious, and really undercut (at least for me) the entire last act of the movie. I would have expected him to disguise that a lot better than he did.

Still though, there was a lot of fun stuff in here, and I definitely had a good time overall. If you're a Raimi fan (and judging from the excited reactions at seeing the Evil Dead car, there were a lot of them in my theater ), you should check it out.

[JacksonArcher]

Huh, I was completely shocked at the "twist". Never saw it coming.

Guess I'm dumb.

[davejames]

JacksonArcher wrote:

---

Huh, I was completely shocked at the "twist". Never saw it coming.

Guess I'm dumb.

Well maybe I just watch WAAAY too many movies. The whole ruse felt like something I've seen many times before. Plus the movie gave me way too much time to think about it once I realized something was probably up.


(hmm, looks like my spoiler code isn't working. darn)

[The Evil Dead]

I've decided that Sam Raimi should direct every horror film from now on.