Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Director: Sam Raimi
CAST:
Alison Lohman/Christine Brown
Justin Long/Clay Dalton
Lorna Raver/Mrs. Ganush

Plot: Christine has just pissed off a gypsy when she declined giving her an extension on her house. Instead of being a normal human being, the gypsy curses her and now Christine will be dragged down to hell in three days. Oh shit!

Review:
This was my one of my most anticipated movies of 2009...and it did NOT disappoint! It was Sam Raimi's return to the horror genre, where i believe he rightfully belongs. I mean come on! Look at his Evil Dead trilogy...AMAZING! I especially love the original Evil Dead (1981). So yes you could say i was excited for this movie, plus i thought the trailer was AMAZING.
Plot wise, it's a simple movie and that works. It was all about scaring the living shit out of you, and the movie did that perfectly. It was also about making you laugh until your gut busts, which it also did perfectly! Think Evil Dead 2 if it was pg13. I know that's a strange comparison but that is what we got here. I was always jumping or laughing or sometimes both at the same time. Hell yes i was having a great time. It didn't even FEEL like a Pg13 film! It was so gooey, that I forgot it wasn't rated R. It sure felt like it did. I never wanted it to end. Usually a movie has an epic scene or two where you are always going to remember it and quote it all the time...for me the movie had at LEAST four, my favorite one being the seance scene. Wait till you see it! Everything about that scene is done so well. (FYI, I can quote this scene perfectly now!)
The directing is amazing. Raimi hasn't lost his charm. He's always on the move and is always filming in weird angles like we love. It's true Raimi-fashion! He really knows how to combine the laughs with teh scares. Not many directors can do that.
The script itself is very well written and VERY clever. One of my favorites would have to be the soundtrack though. Christopher Young IS my favorite composer for movies. I especially love his horror film soundtracks, my favorite being Hellraiser 2. The soundtrack to this movie reminded me of a cross between Evil Dead 1, Evil Dead 2, and Hellraiser 2. EPIC!
Acting wise, everyone was ON THE BALL!!! I was ALWAYS on Alison's side. She was great in the role and really conveyed a lot of depth and emotion and made me care for her. Justin was great in the straight man role. He's a good actor and i always like him. Plus he has a dorky cute quality to him. Lorna Raver was funny and scary as fuck! Job well done!
It helped that all the characters were great and well written. The best is our heroine Christine. She is a flawed woman who just wants to get that promotion but she still has a conscious and feels bad about what she did. Plus she's an ass kicker and has one of the best one liners this side of Bruce Campbell. (I beat you old bitch!) Her boyfriend was cute and lovable so there you go.
This is the best time i had at the movies all year, with My Bloody Valentine 3D (9/10) being a close second.
Any flaws to spit out? A couple. The CGI was weak in a few spots and i just overall prefer practical effects. I think practical effects are always the way to go and don't look AS cheesy as CGI effects. That was my biggest peeve. The CGI actually pulled me out of the film at points - No bueno! Plus there was a plot turn that is really obvious and makes the last act kind of predictable, but this was pretty minor, because the final act was still EPIC!
Overall this was was one of the BEST times I had in 2009. I actually ended up seeing this film FOUR times last summer. My DVD has gone on to be watched many more times. It's a great horror film.
OVERALL GRADE: 9/10