Drag Me to Hell – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

You could just feel it. Sam Raimi was running out of gas in Spider-Man 3. His heart didn’t seem to be in it, and whatever visual boredom he was experiencing, it was reflective in his work. Raimi needed a breather, maybe even an exorcism. He has always been a journey man in film, shuffling from one genre to the next, but horror is what we know and love him for. After playing around with a blank check for his Spider-Man films, what else could a man do with mainstream success, but perhaps tapped out creatively? Go back to one’s roots. Sam Raimi did just that with Drag Me to Hell, a much-needed breath of fresh air for him, and a definite bit of fresh air for us horror fans. It’s the kind of balls-to-the-wall, everything goes, low budget zaniness that made him a film star with the Evil Dead films, that makes Drag Me to Hell a blast.

You’ve seen the trailers. They don’t even come close to selling this film, so it’s a good thing we don’t review them. Everything you love about the Evil Dead films is here, but he’s not just copying past glory, he adding a fresh spin to it, that’s all for the story, that makes Drag Me to Hell his antidote to the boring and lifeless Spider-Man 3. It’s hard to imagine Ellen Page was cast (but later dropped out) in the lead role. As much as I like her, and I like her a lot, she would’ve been woefully miscast. Alison Lohman is the perfect Raimi hero; she’s like a female Bruce Campbell. Likable, goofy, isn’t ahead of the situation, and most importantly, she can take a beating like The Chin. That’s important because Raimi beats the hell out of her. Sorry for that pun.

Lorna Raver is great too as Ganush, the mad, cursing witch that plans to send Christine (Lohman) straight to hell after being shamed. There’s this fight between Ganush and Christine in a car that has that “everything and the kitchen sink” feeling to it, that is tops in pure bonkers. Head buts, staplers, biting with gums, goo, all complete with that Raimi possessed camera work he made famous 30 years ago in Evil Dead. There’s hardly a dull moment in Hell. Raimi successfully builds up the situations and characters. We like them, hate them, root for them, and packs it with an unseen craziness that horror has lacked recently. I don’t know if the film has a lick of scariness to it, but it’s absolutely fun, a word gone too from current horror. It’s a subtle mix of madness and humor, that made something like his last horror film, Army of Darkness, a blast regardless of scares or gore.

It’s a lean and mean 90 minutes, no doubt. Anchoring it all in, is a fun old school horror score by Christopher Young (Hellraiser). In fact, as much as the term “old school” gets thrown around way too much now days in horror, Drag Me to Hell is reminiscent of the good old creature features from the 80s, and maybe even a step back from the 50s. You get this feeling within the first five minutes, of that warm feeling of the fun a B-movie use to bring. If anything, the fact that Drag Me to Hell isn’t a bloody sequel or blasted remake, but an original horror film, coming from a studio to the freaking theaters is a massive cause for a celebration. Sam Raimi brought an old friend back: the fun horror film. Oh, how we have missed you.

Oh, and Mr. Raimi…come back soon.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Universal’s Blu-ray presentation is top-notch. It’s a flawless transfer; colors and details are superb. There’s a nice near three dimensional quality to the picture, with nice deep inky blacks and rich texture in the details. Just marvelous. The audio packs a huge punch too. Every speaker is fully engaged, with an aggressive surround mix. The subwoofer will get a hard workout, with the deep low end. This is one of the premiere looking and sounding Blu-rays released in the market this year.

Production Video Diaries: In HD, this is a collection of tiny featurettes hosted by Justin Long. Sadly, they’re too brief, and don’t offer us the true insights we want. Because Raimi wanted to go back to directing smaller film after playing with the huge budgets and pressure of the Spider-Man franchise, it is a real shame we don’t get a commentary track.

Conclusion: Raimi’s return to horror is a astounding success, so much so I have forgotten about the promised Evil Dead 4. Universal’s Blu-ray is superb, even with the lackluster extras.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: