Drag Me to Hell!
 

How is there no thread about this yet? Or am I looking in the wrong places....
Raimi finally returns to form and nothing? It deserves it's own thread, 100%.

Reviews are all accurate as far as I am concerned. I have not had as much fun at a movie in a LONG time. It's scary, funny, clever, gross, and the sound department really outdid themselves.

Imagine Evil Dead 2 era Sam Raimi, with the matureness of doing everything else he has ever done and with a budget....that's Drag Me to Hell and for someone who often balks at spending 10 bucks on a movie, it absolutely has to be seen in a theater with a big crowd laughing and throwing popcorn around.

Check it out!

I posted about it in the Last Seen Movie thread. I agree whole heartedly. I explained it as Evil Dead II meets the modern-ness of Spider Man.

They did a lot of clever things with the sound too. I was so scared at some points, simply because the loud screeching of the iron gate made it impossible for me to think. What person seeing a horror movie for the first time doesn't try desperately to figure out what is going on, and where things are coming from? Well I was attempting to do that, and then that sound made it so hard to comprehend what was going to happen so I nearly had a panic attack, and was covering my ears like a little kid.

The audience reactions were a must too. I was in a theatre that was barely a quarter full (because, I assume, everyone was seeing UP) but you could still hear people squirming at some of the grosser things and laughing at a few of the better done one liners. I even heard some of the people dicsussing the significance of the movie, and the similarities to Evil Dead. It was such a good time. Fun is a word that has been overused when reviewing Drag Me To Hell, but it's the most appropriate word I can think of.

Absolutely wonderful. I was screaming the whole time... And so was everyone else.

First day purchase for me.

Can't wait to check this one out! Glad to hear its a decent watch.

Wow, I thought this would be liquid diahhrea due to the PG-13 rating slapped on it.

Looks like I'm wrong on that, and will haveta check this one out. I was excited to see another Raimi horror film, but when I heard that it wasn't R-rated, I lost interest.

Hm, thanks for the reviews all, will make a point to see this now.

I think I'm the only one here who isn't in love with this movie. I thought it was good, but only that; it was good with its humor, its scares, its gore, its story- but it didn't excel in any of those things, and consequently I was left with no lasting impressions.

The Evil Dead was so good because it was a sick joke for adults. This seemed to cater more to a younger Spider-man crowd; I was surrounded by 12 year olds who appeared to be out on first "dates" and who all had a ball. To them it was the scariest and craziest thing they'd ever seen; to me, it was horror-lite, and a bit of a compromise.

I'm not saying I hated the film, but for the sake of turning this from an ass-kissing thread into a good debate, I thought I'd share my opinions.

I have yet to see this film (going to a showing this Friday...) but just to chime in with my thoughts... The reason, at least in my opinion, that it is getting such praise (more on the critic-side of things) is likely due to it's social relevance, and the messages about economy weaved throughout.

I freakin hate having to wait a month or two for everything to hit theaters here!
cant wait for this one either.

Ohhh I will definitely see it now. Before reading this thread, I thought that the commercials showed the best parts since the movie's only pg 13. I thought "How scary can a pg 13 movie be?" But I'll give it a chance, when it comes on cable.

I'm curious as to what horror films you have been watching recently in the theaters. There have been some ok horror flicks in the past, oh, five years but with the exception of Grindhouse none have provided the thrill that Drag Me has. Bloody Valentine 3D, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Last House on the Left... some ok remakes in the bunch but they didn't even approach this film. Raimi combined horror and humor effortlessly once again and the anxiety he created in some scenes was beautiful. I loved it, I guess I could see somebody who needs gore to complete their horror experience being disappointed but the themes involved and execution of the story was anything but "lite". I love how a lot of members here said Evil Dead could have only gotten a PG-13 rating if it was released today but a lot of the same people complain about a horror flick with a PG-13 rating. You don't need to have a graphic film to be able to build tension and get scares, I'm glad Raimi sees that. I firmly believe that if he felt his film needed an R rating to be effective he would have pushed it further but it simply didn't need the push. There's still plenty of gross moments too :) .

Sure it didn't excel at any one of those things. It wasn't the funniest movie, or the most graphic, but it was a great mix of all of those things. When was the last time you saw a new movie come out that was gross, scary and funny? I find all the movies that have been coming out recently have failed at being even one of those things, so to watch a movie that was all of them and still good was definitely refreshing.

Actually, if it sounded as if I thought the film was a poor comparison to recent horror, I would like to make it clear that's not the way I see it at all. I've lost a lot of my passion for the genre over the last few years, mostly due to the prohibition of the quality horror film. To say that Drag Me to Hell is the best horror movie of the last year, or even the last several years, would not be an outrageous thing to say; I'd agree with you. But considering the competition, that's not such a shining achievement. I saw Drag Me to Hell as mostly pastiche; it was as if Raimi was saying "remember when horror movies used to be like this? Remember when I made films like this?". The evidence lies in the dozen or so self-references to his own Evil Dead series. But what if I wanted something new? What if I wanted a solid, filling entry into the genre, like Halloween in the 70s, A Nightmare on Elm Street in the 80s, Silence of the Lambs in the 90s? Drag Me to Hell as a kind of simultaneous crowd-pleaser for newcomers and salute to genre fans is fun for a ride, but what is it really saying about the state of the horror film? That we can only reminisce about the good old days from behind the comfort of safe, studio commercial filmmaking? I don't necessarily care about a rating; what bothers me is the difference in quality. The Evil Dead was a non-stop terror ride which never apologized and stayed gritty and fresh. Drag Me to Hell had to, for example, have a shot of Justin Long answering an iPhone. With Sam Raimi at the helm, I was ready for the next step in the horror movement; instead, I got pastiche.

Interesting point. While I loved DMTH, I see where you are coming from. Plus nothing is better than 'Evil Dead 2' right?

FEARnet.com is playing the classic movie online for free to celebrate Raimi's return to horror (whether you're happy about that is up to you). Either way, it's a fun movie to revisit if you haven't seen it in awhile.

Jack with FEARnet

nicely laid out site, man. I would like it even more if your videos were viewable from Canada.

I definitely understand what you're saying, but I think we should bear in mind:
The guy already revolutionized the genre once, he doesn't need to do it again.

I just love the fact that it's a 15 so I can go and see it in the cinema!!!

Looking forward to it.

Tell me about it. I'm 21 but I'm short enough to get the evil eye when I buy a ticket to an R rated movie. Luckily I have a 6ft tall bf with a beard. Since I won't suggest you get a scruffy bf, you should grow a beard asap to avoid movie ticket awkwardness.

I dug this a lot.

Some cracking sound design and a real funhouse feel to it, plus it takes its lead character in some fairly uncomfortable directions in a very un-Hollywood way; really rare to see a (vaguely) sympathetic lead acting the way this one does.

An ending that doesn't wuss out helped a lot too.

Four stars from me.

So for those of you who have seen it - Do you think that this movie should have been rated PG-13? I feel as though the levels of gore and the truly frightening scenes should have raised it to an R. Then again, it had no nudity or language, but I found its nudity or profanities that will raise the rating of a film and not actually the horrific content.

Thoughts?

Was it really that gory? I don't recall much blood at all, really....

Just a LOT of phlegm, drool, and snot. :D
It definitely didn't feel Rated R to me, but it also felt like it was really pushing the Pg-13 a bit.

Yeah, I really feel this. I was rather disappointed in the film, especially hearing all the rave reviews. I mean Entertainment Weekly gave it an A. They've never given that high a rating to horror movie. Part of my disappointment could be because I've seen so much horror, so it may take a lot more to impress me? I don't know, the whole movie kind of felt like Diet Horror. All the elements were there, but it didn't push it enough for me to feel horrified, it just fell weak. The ending also felt very predictable to me, though part of that could be because I had more time to think about it, as what was going on on the screen wasn't that terrifying.

Now, that being said. This may be the right level of horror for mainstream America, but I really expected more from Sam Raimi. It's almost like he's lost his way and got fat from Spider-Man, and just having an okay, profitable movie is enough for him now instead of making something truly inspiring.

I will have to say that he did one thing that I really liked. Most fortune tellers in movies are dark-haired women. I didn't realize how much of a stereotype this was until the "fortune teller" in DMTH was an Indian man, a seer. It was really refreshing and the actor playing the seer did a really good job.

I guess from watching so many dvd extras you can tell where they cut scenes short.
I think the goat scene should have been lengthened where the goat is terrorizing the characters. It appeared like it was cut. PG13? hope its expanded on dvd

Also in terminator salvation Mood Bloodgood's nude scene was cut when she and Sam are in the rain. Hope its on the dvd


But i liked drag me to hell. Definitely felt like evil dead 4 or had shades of evil dead. but i felt the cgi could have looked better the handkerchief looks too animated and some other stuff did .
i think a silk hanky on wires would have been more fun and fulfilling.

it sounds really good but my friend says its crap but im still going to watch it.

marianne

The film is a fantastic thrill ride from start to finish. It has great jumps and scares, fantastic suspense as well as wonderfully effective comedy. Raimi took the goofy, fun and scary themes (and a few gags) from his EVIL DEAD days and blends them with the thematic story telling and spolid set-up/pay-off structure he learned from the SPIDERMAN Movies.

It should be seen by a wider audience and it is certainly going to be a "gateway drug" for young/future horror fans. I think it is the POLTERGEIST for a new generation... nothing new brought to the table, but executed near-flawlessly.

This is my favorite film of the year so far and it made me feel like a kid watching FRIGHT NIGHT or CREEPSHOW for the first time.

9/10

I was gonna do a thread about this movie but then I saw this one;P
I really enjoyed this movie, went to see it yesterday.

I got huge respect for Raimi/raimi`s for bringing back some old school in your face horror into modern horror...
The goat that went crazy on her and he scarf that screamed and many more good evil deadish scenes. The old Universial pictures logo used in the 80`s in the beginning and her car, the classic. Amazing:D

Also playing in the creds which I didn`t notice is the excorsisten theme from the old trailer. A movie worth checkin twice cause of all this stuff.

99951

if i hadnt heard of raimi before, hadnt seen any of the evil deads - this would be one of my favorite films.

unfortunately some of the fun was a little diluted by seeing things lifted right out of evil dead 2 ... but otherwise - a lot of fun.
(the twist was telegraphed too so i didnt have the pleasure of knot knowing how it was going to end)


as i've said before - the fight scene in the car was a riot - the high pint for me.



i didnt think this movie was worth an R .. the violence was all pretty cartoonish.

One of my favorite film moments, a blast and a half.

Could you people stop watching this movie and start watching Antichrist, please.

Thank you! :mad:

Hahaha....kind of apples and oranges there.
Plus, is Antichrist even watchable in the US yet? I thought that just hit the festival only a month ago.

Well, the danish premiere for Antichrist was at the same time as Drag Me To Hell had premiere in the states. And Drag Me To Hell has just come out in Denmark this week, so.... you know?

I'm tired of being the only one in here who've seen it.

it was PG13 in the USA

I have watched a preview of it, and seen some magazine screenshots and it looks good. I can't wait to see it.

same here - that was in response to Chrono's question ..

Does anyone know how long this will stay in theaters for? It comes to NZ just 3 days after I leave to go home, I'm afraid Ill miss it.

cant wait to see it. Looks amazing.

I liked it. Goofy as hell. I liked the ending too. His expression, mostly.

I saw it in theaters a few days after it was released and while it was a fun watch, it felt disappointing to me. It just didn't wow me. Though I did like that sight reference to Evil Dead. Did anyone else notice that?

Just watched it yesterday and I was very impressed. It was awesome. Even better than I had hoped. I really hope he makes some more movies soon.

I saw this at an exclusive theatre members type screening on Saturday night. I enjoyed it, it definately had echoes of Evil dead 2 in it. To me it was refreshing to see a horror where it could be humerous and a bit if a laugh, gross, and scary at the same time. It was a good fun movie, that i'm glad i made the effort to see. I would give it 4 stars out of 5. I hope Sam Raimi gets back in the horror game after this movie.

I have been meaning to see this. Glad to hear it is a good one.