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| Mark R. Leeper... |
 Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 5:01 pm |
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DRAG ME TO HELL
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: A bank loan officer refuses a loan
extension to a woman of Gypsy origin. In return,
the officer is cursed. The effects of the curse
are horrifying and frequently revolting. Were
this a new story written by Sam Raimi and his
elder brother Ivan it would have been a better
piece of horror. The effects and the action are
all Raimi, but the story is cobbled together from
familiar pieces. Largely this is a high-octane
version of M. R. James's "Casting the Runes" with
equal parts of shock and humor. Rating: high +1
(-4 to +4) or 6/10
Sam Raimi made a name for himself with his "Evil Dead" films, one
of the rare trilogies in which the second film is probably the
best. However, his style was mostly to put people in a cabin and
then to drop the contents of Hell's cutlery drawer on their heads.
There was little time for Raimi to provide for plot or
characterization. Since that time Raimi has graduated to films
with more plot and characters. A SIMPLE PLAN had plenty of both,
though Raimi got them from the novel that film was based on. With
DRAG ME TO HELL Raimi had a chance to combine plot and characters
with sequences of his slam-bang horror style. This meant, however,
that he had to create "his own" story to surround and show off his
horror segments. I put "his own" in quotes because he borrowed
heavily from existing stories that were not his own. Much of DRAG
ME TO HELL is borrowed from the once nearly-forgotten classic
horror film NIGHT OF THE DEMON (in the United States it is CURSE OF
THE DEMON), a somewhat free adaptation of M. R. James's story
"Casting the Runes". To add spice he adds Gypsy Curse horror
borrowed possibly from Stephen King's novel THINNER and Tom
Holland's screen adaptation. There is also a nice little homage to
ERASERHEAD. To be fair, not every good horror film ever made is
startlingly original. Atmosphere, style, and production design
count for a lot, and the familiarity of aspects of DRAG ME TO HELL
is a disappointment, not a fatal flaw.
A prolog establishes that the fictional Gypsies have dangerous
supernatural powers and throws in an impressive horror effects
scene. Then we get to the main line of the story. Bank loan
officer Christine Brown (played by Allison Lohman) is in a
desperate competition with Stu Rubin (Reggie Lee) for the position
of assistant manager of the loan department. Rubin plays less than
fairly and the manager, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer) suggests to
Christine that she be a little more forceful and less forgiving
with people who are late on their loans. (Bank officials who
foreclose seem very timely villains.) The Gypsy Mrs. Ganush (Lorna
Raver) who has missed two mortgage payments is her first
opportunity. Christine refuses another extension to the woman.
Even when the old woman gets on her knees and begs Christine for an
extension, kissing Christine's skirt, Christine is forced to
refuse. When Christine remains firm Mrs. Ganush tells her in rage,
"You shamed me." This incident is far from over. Christine is
about to face the full force of Gypsy vengeance magic.
It should be noted that while the film as a lot of visual horror,
it is not the kind that requires an R-rating. This is PG-13
horror. One scene does have blood, but these are not the razor
blade, knife, and needle sorts of scares--such a mainstay of
insipid modern horror films. The scary scenes are every bit as
intense, but it is more icky goo all over everything and "Oooo,
what's that in her mouth?" sort of shock. Nothing has a sharp edge
including the wit or the scares. But the visual images do come
literally fast and furious.
What is nice about this film is it is different from most of the
horror films being made currently. What is disappointing is that
it is not enough different from some of the classics of the horror
genre. I rate DRAG ME TO HELL a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or
6/10.
It is one thing to use vampires or flesh-eating zombies for horror.
But isn't it about time we got past using members of persecuted
minorities like Gypsies as horror icons? I am sure that Raimi
would not make a film suggesting Jews or Presbyterians have evil
mystical powers. Why pick on Gypsies? Elsewhere Raimi does play
with our ethnic expectations. Christine's competitor for the
promotion is Stu Rubin, a Jewish-sounding name, but he is played by
a Filipino.
Film Credits: <http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1127180/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drag_me_to_hell/>
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper at (no spam) optonline.net
Copyright 2009 Mark R. Leeper |
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