Drag Me To Hell (2009)

[jimmybob]

So it looks like Sam Raimi has decided to revitalize classic horror with a new movie in the shadow of the Evil Dead trilogy.

Who's seen it ? Rotten tomatoes gives it 100%, IMDB gives it an 8.4. I've heard it's really great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5D74xACodQ
	Small | Large

I might see it today but I am wondering between Terminator 4 and this.

[Rev. Powell]

I don't think it opens until next week.  I'll probably see it, but honestly, from the trailer it looks like he's taking a pretty conventional approach to the material that I'm afraid is going to be boring.  I'm afraid with all his mainstream success he's put his EVIL DEAD days far behind him; no need to take chances anymore when your an established box office draw.

[Joe the Destroyer]

I was skeptical about this movie, but after hearing all the good stuff from the premiere, I'm pretty much on board.  So far, it has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with 15 reviews, but as we all know that can shift quickly.  I think there's a lot of potential there.

[the ghoul]

hmmmm  That's too bad.  A couple years back I had heard he was going to do another installment of the Evil Dead series of films with Bruce Campbell.  I was looking forward to that.  I guess he's too busy being "the director who brought us Spiderman." 

[jimmybob]

So it comes today right?

Who's seen it?

-Jimmybob

[Joe the Destroyer]

hmmmm  That's too bad.  A couple years back I had heard he was going to do another installment of the Evil Dead series of films with Bruce Campbell.  I was looking forward to that.  I guess he's too busy being "the director who brought us Spiderman." 

He is doing another Evil Dead.  He had plans to do this movie back when he completed Army of Darkness, but put it on a back burner because of Spider-Man.  He also said he originally didn't want to do another Spider-Man because of the way the studio hosed the third one.

[Rev. Powell]

hmmmm  That's too bad.  A couple years back I had heard he was going to do another installment of the Evil Dead series of films with Bruce Campbell.  I was looking forward to that.  I guess he's too busy being "the director who brought us Spiderman." 

He is doing another Evil Dead.  He had plans to do this movie back when he completed Army of Darkness, but put it on a back burner because of Spider-Man.  He also said he originally didn't want to do another Spider-Man because of the way the studio hosed the third one.

We had a debate on this a while back and I heard both ways: he is planning to do another, and he isn't planning to do another.  I suppose at this time it's up in the air.  We'll have to see. 

[jimmybob]

I came back from the cinema just now.

Pretty decent beans Raimi has going on. Actually really decent beans. You can feel Raimi's classic horror atmosphere with a bit of a modern twist. As for the laughable gore and jumps and scares that have you twisting and turning, they're all there. No as good as Sam's previous installments, but still good leftover beans. I don't want to get into the story, it's obvious from the preview what's happening.

-Jimmybob

[The Burgomaster]

I saw it yesterday and enjoyed it.  Another director could have taken the same material and really screwed it up, but Raimi did a fine job.  Don't get me wrong, it's not as good as THE EVIL DEAD.  But at least Raimi didn't COMPLETELY succumb to Hollywood.  It's not a classic, but it's better than most other horror movies I've seen in recent years.

[Jim H]

I found it quite enjoyable.  Very funny, very well directed, and some really good boo-style scares and suspense.  While it is true another director could have screwed up this material, it is worth noting Sam and Ivan Raimi were the people who wrote it, so that was unlikely to happen.   

It was also VERY Raimi-ish, with a number of bits reminiscent of the Evil Dead series.  It's also definitely worth seeing in the theatre as the surround sound usage is phenomenal (some will probably dislike how loud it gets though), and the power of it in theatres combined with the huge screen really made a difference.  That immortal car of his makes a very prominent appearance as well.


***SPOILERS***



I was a bit disappointed with how predictable the ending was.  It used a cliche I've seen in numerous other horror films and genre works I find slightly ridiculous as well. 



***END***

If it wasn't for my one major complaint, it might be in the 9 range, but that brought the film down squarely to an 8/10.

[Doc Daneeka]

I found it about average, the horror factor exceeded my expectations (Much better than the average PG-13 "haunting" story ;) ) including the CGI, which was for about half the film very well done. The demon effects were well-used for the most part and managed to be quite scary, and another plus for the movie was the rabid physicality of the gypsy lady.

The majority of the comedy however, did not mix well. IMO it kind of cheapened it/made it inconsistent really. At times the dialogue/plot was a bit cliched which made me wonder whether or not it was intentional or not. Thankfully, despite some parts of the script, all the characters were interesting in their own ways which made the thing very watchable throughout. Despite not acting natural sometimes, you felt sympathy for everyone.

About 6 or 6.5/10 depending on my state of mind.

[Jim H]

Briggs - I'm curious now.  What do you think of the horror/comedy balancing in the Evil Dead series?  It seems pretty similar.

Nice avatar BTW.   

[Doc Daneeka]

Jim - I loved ED1, one of the top 5 scariest films I've seen and it frankly puzzles me why people call it comedy... Still that being said it makes me wonder why people call ED2 horror when it is so predominantly comedy, kinda bugs me to be honest... It's hilarious but seems a bit usurpative (Is that a word?). DMTH I'd say is more of a straight-up horror film than ED2, which as I said can make the humor seem misplaced.
-----
Thanks, my avatar was actually made by a pal of mine who is trying to do a Puppet Master forum RPG with me. If you're a big series fan you can find it here http://puppetmastertherpg.proboards.com/index.cgi . Either way yours is cool too, did you draw it yourself?

[Jim H]

Jim - I loved ED1, one of the top 5 scariest films I've seen and it frankly puzzles me why people call it comedy... Still that being said it makes me wonder why people call ED2 horror when it is so predominantly comedy, kinda bugs me to be honest... It's hilarious but seems a bit usurpative (Is that a word?). DMTH I'd say is more of a straight-up horror film than ED2, which as I said can make the humor seem misplaced.
-----
Thanks, my avatar was actually made by a pal of mine who is trying to do a Puppet Master forum RPG with me. If you're a big series fan you can find it here http://puppetmastertherpg.proboards.com/index.cgi . Either way yours is cool too, did you draw it yourself?

I wouldn't call ED a comedy, personally.  But, there is an undercurrent of gallows humor in a lot of it, a pretty subtle one at that.  I'd still call it a straight horror film though, as I don't think a few notes of gallows humor changes that.  ED2 defies easy categorization for me, though even the most horrific elements have some comedic value, which does lend itself to the comedy train of thought.

A friend of mine did the Puppet Master illustration for me for my birthday.  It's ink wash and pen I believe.  I like it.

[zombie no.one]

Saw this at the cinema 2 days ago.

Decent fantasy-horror with some elements reminiscent of a Disney film, I thought. agree with Mr Briggs re: the comedy , was a bit unnecessary. some of the shocks were good though.

7/10 overall