If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, best not to go pissing off toothless old hags with a talent for curses – that’s what Vicky Bufton discovered when she saw Sam Raimi’s new horror movie, Drag Me To Hell.
From the first appearance of Mrs Ganush (a wonderfully grotesque Lorna Raver), the scares come thick and fast as hapless bank worker Christine (Alison Lohman) finds herself on the business end of a curse that will culminate in her being carted off to Hades in only 3 days. Cue a desperate race to find a ‘cure’.
The initial attack is an artful twist on the usual deserted-carpark scare, with a beautiful set up followed by a hilarious and surprisingly violent fight with Raimi’s eye for black comedy clearly in use. Watch out for the staples. From then on you’d better not relax, because you’ll just end up in someone’s lap at the next fright!
Lohman puts in a lovely performance as Christine, managing to be totally vulnerable, strong and desperate, while showing a real talent for comedy, particularly as the curse takes hold: meeting the parents was a piece of cake for Ben Stiller in comparison.
And while it is not a perfect film – the initial setting is a bit slow and by numbers – once the action starts its a very entertaing ride. There’s no shortage of shocks, jumps and suspense, but all carried off with a darkly comic edge that finds you giggling while you’re still watching through your fingers.
In a way this is a feel good film. Although it’ll scare you, it also wants you to enjoy it, and hats off to Raimi – despite the scares, you won’t be able to wipe the grin off your face for hours afterwards. Sam’s back, and it’s great to see!
Drag Me To Hell is an enjoyably terrifying 99 minutes of your time. It even makes one a little hopeful that Raimi will put his mojo to good use on Spidey’s next outing.
Vicky Bufton is a London dwelling gal about town. Film buff, good tv enthusiast, and book worm. Not to be left in HMV unsupervised for fear of bankruptcy. 