Underrated Gems: Drag Me to Hell

It's obvious to no one that today is the first day of October. The whole month will be dedicated to two select horror movies from the 60s to the 90s. With Halloween being dedicated to one from the 2010s. Now, we kick off this exploration with this little gem from the early 2000s. From Sam Raimi who directed the widely regarded Evil Dead and Spider-Man trilogies comes Drag Me to Hell an original underrated film that deserves your attention. SPOILERS will appear in the review.

1.      Story

The film starts with a Mexican family arriving to a house of a medium to help their son. The family say that he hears and sees demons. Compounding the issue is that the family say that the son stole jewelry from gypsies. The medium Shaun San Dena invites them to come and she begins with the séance. The demon pushes everyone including the boy who falls from the second floor to the main floor. Cracks appear from the floor and the family and medium see the boy being dragged down.

Years later, we follow the main protagonist Christine played by Alison Lohman who is working at a bank. We see that she wants the Assistant Manager position but has competition who wants to have that position as well. Her boss Mr. Jacks tells her that she must show that she deserves the position. From there, Mrs. Ganush asks Christine for help since she asks for an extension to have her house from being taken away. Christine denies her an extension which prompts Ganush to plead to the young banker to help her but gets escorted out.

As Christine leaves, Ganush curses Christine with a demon to torment her. She does so by removing a button from her jacket as part of the curse.  Throughout the movie, Christine visits a fortune teller Rahm Jas played by Dileep Rao to see if the demon can be expelled. In the middle of that, the demon terrorizes Christine by creating noises that she only hears. By levitating her and throwing her around her house. And making her nose bleed by spewing tons of blood.

She ultimately decides to take matters in her own hands by trying to pass off her curse to someone else. Rahm tells her that its possible to pass it down to someone. She decided to pass it down to her coworker who wanted the prestigious title at the bank. She changes her mind and goes straight to Ganush’s grave and shove the button down her throat. Thinking that she completed the transfer, Christine visits her boyfriend played by Justin Long at the train station to go out of town. He reveals that he had the cursed button, which causes Christine to fall in the train tracks. Her boyfriend watches in horror as she sees Christine being grabbed by various demons to hell.

2.      The Raimi Touch

It’s no secret that Sam Raimi has a unique touch of directing horror. He makes good use of the quick zoom ins and quick edits of shots. Here, it’s ostensibly Raimi’s film. One of the motifs that I noticed is the use of the Dutch Angle. This camera trick is when the camera slightly tilts one way, and its when a character is experiencing something weird. It happens when the demon comes to terrorize Christine at her house and boyfriend’s parent’s house.

One thing is that this film balances being a horror and a comedic movie. Since the comedy comes from the acts that Christine goes through. Parts of it is hilarious due to the outrageousness of it. For instance, in one scene where Christine goes to her shed, a demon who appears as Ganush scares her. The demon forces its entire arm into Christine’s mouth. Which prompts the woman to cut a rope which has an anvil to crash down on the demon, whose eyes and brain matter splatter to Christine.

I think its one thing where the tone shifts aren’t sharply contrasting where it feels like whiplash. The film does it so wonderfully that it builds the dread and offset it with comedic timing of the situation. I feel that it may alienate some people with that since they want to see a straight up horror movie. To the purists though, it’s exactly what they expect with Sam Raimi.

3.      Justification of Watching Someone Going Through Hell For Our Enjoyment

It’s one thing where we someone gets put through the ringer and we usually get enjoyment and laugh at their expense. Honestly, Christine had it coming throughout the entire movie. She put her own pride instead of helping Mrs. Ganush with her financial problems. As well as admitting that she could’ve helped the old woman.

Also, it’s one thing to feel sympathy for her since she has been cursed. Though, it made clear in my understanding that she’s unlikeable. She constantly lies throughout the movie which doesn’t really help her case. More so when she pleads for help. Like when she goes to the pawn shop and advocate for more money. And when she goes to see Mrs. Ganush to try to help her. Unbeknownst to her that she died. Which makes her attempt to help her all but futile.

I think the biggest takeaway is just the comeuppance that she suffers through. I feel its more of a fable since Christine’s pride of getting a job position swayed her to not help the old lady caused Christine’s problems throughout the film. Like I mentioned earlier, she could have helped her but she wanted the title since she felt she deserved it.

4.      Overall

Is this considered one of Sam Raimi’s best movies. Yes, since for a while in the 2000s he was busy making Spider-Man films for Sony. I think Drag Me to Hell was a statement by Sam Raimi to still flex his chops and say that he still has his horror genes. I have yet to watch his Evil Dead series but this one always gets the backburner for horror movies in the 2000s. So check it out if you want to watch something different.

Drag Me to Hell gets a four out of five.