Horror, at its best done by the best. Sam Raimi got “tangled in a web” for close to a decade, making the Spiderman series. Although decent films, they lack a certain ingredient that flows deep within Raimi’s veins. The rush of being scared and the comfort of laughter are tough to pull off at the same time. Sam Raimi revisits the genre that made him one of the biggest names in feature films today, horror with an unexpected splash of slapstick comedy.
Subjectively speaking, I have a deep admiration of the works done by Raimi. Watching his films and seeing him progress as a filmmaker over the years; I can say that he has been a major inspiration in my filmmaking to this date. From making a secluded cabin in the woods an ultimate nightmare for any nature junkie in Evil Dead, to his box office smash of Spidey’s web slinging, Raimi’s style always seems to leave a glimmer in my eye with admiration.
Drag Me to Hell
pretty much had all the elements to a Sam Raimi flick. He capture’s the audience from beginning to end. Raimi’s trade marked use of obscure angles and fast zoom action kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the 90 minutes in the theatre. Same with sound, at one moment the scene would be completely silent, slowly torturing the viewer with anticipation. Then an unexpected roar nearly gave myself heart failure at age 28. While simultaneously making me jump like a little girl in my seat, he adds wacky comedic gags mixed in with the suspenseful sequences, similar to the Three Stooges stunts which fuels Raimi’s twisted humor in his films. I never thought an attractive girl being gummed and slobbered all over by a crazed gypsy, or a mere nose bleed all over a bank manager would make me laugh so hard in my life. Although the dialog may have been cheesy at times, the acting from the cast made up for it in the long run.I see Drag Me to Hell as a reincarnation of Sam Raimi’s roots of horror. A rekindled flame that I thought burnt out while “web slinging” the past few years. He still has the talent to make a good solid flick in general. With his signature cameo of his 1977 yellow Oldsmobile, dubbed “the classic”, which is in almost every Sam Raimi picture, one element is missing from this film.
A mere cameo of Bruce Campbell would have made this film completely complete, which is surprising that he wasn’t in this one. (Maybe in the background somewhere I missed) It’s no Raimi flick without Campbell. In honor of the Evil Dead trilogy, I give this flick a solid 4 blood stained chainsaws out of 5.
Watch it for a good scare and laugh.
