Drag Me To Hell (DVD)

While Drag Me Hell isn’t quite the second coming of horror that it could, or perhaps should, have been, Sam Raimi’s return to the genre is wickedly entertaining.

Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown, an LA loan officer who is competing for a promotion at work with a fellow employee. When an old woman arrives at the bank asking for an extension on her home loan, Christine is forced to deny the woman her extension in order to show off her cutthroat work ethic and impress her boss. Unfortunately for Christine, the old woman places an evil curse on her, turning Christine’s life into a living hell.

Never concerned with elegant or sophisticated chills and thrills, Drag Me To Hell is a no-nonsense, snort-inducing gross-out riot. Harking back to the likes of Raimi’s own pitch-perfect Evil Dead II, Drag Me To Hell blends horror with humour to create a high-energy fright flick with a distinct and welcome old school feel to it. While it doesn’t quite reach the same deranged and dizzying heights of Raimi’s Evil Dead series, it’s an invigorating experience, full of face-stapling, goat sacrificing, gypsy cursing, maggot-vomiting goodness.

While there’s certainly a blast to be had with the main feature, the Drag Me To Hell DVD package is far less thrilling. The sole appendage is the ‘Production Diaries’, which focuses on various aspects of the production and gets up close and personal with the cast and crew. There’s plenty of interesting, entertaining and hilarious footage to be had throughout the 30-minute segment, focusing on certain special effects, make-up and production design, but it’s just not enough, and the DVD feels a little underwhelming as a result.

Overall Verdict: A welcome return to old school horror for Sam Raimi, although the DVD package could be better.

Special Features:
Production Diaries

Reviewer: Lee Griffiths