Reno Reviews DRAG ME TO HELL

ENGLISH - (18PL) - 11 June 2009 - Thriller/Horror
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Running time: about 99 mins.
Director: Sam Raimi
Producers: Grant Curtis, Sam Raimi, Robert G. Tapert
Writers: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Casts: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao
Plot: A decision to deny an extension of a home loan to an old woman named Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) causes Christine (Alison Lohman) to become the recipient of a supernatural curse. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a sceptical boyfriend, Christine seeks help from a seer to break the curse and save her soul from eternal damnation.

THE VERDICT:

Reno Ooi says:

WARNING FOR SPOILER! First of all, I would like to say that "Drag Me To Hell" is hell of a movie. I never expected it to stand out among other summer blockbusters, but yet, I have to admit that it's a must-watch movie for those who wish to complete thier summer list of movies. The trailer appeares to be gross and disgusting. But if you though that it's some sort oenvironment f disgusting ghost story, you were wrong. In fact, it's a very good ghost story after the dissapointment from "The Uninvited".



The main element that makes this movie a good one is the it successfully created -- the feeling of being near to hell. "I curse you to hell" are words of anger which we are not strange with. However, this movie makes those few words really mean something horrible and I mean freakingly horrible to the extend that you might never though how its implication can be coming out from an old lady. Throughout the whole movie, you wouldn't see any single clear image about the main evil in the story -- Lamia. You can at most see his shadow and feel he is there, which is already freaking enough. Honestly, it makes me feel like back in time when I watched "The Exorcist" which used the same concept that you can't see, but you do feel.

The story-line is almost as how its trailer indicated -- a young lady pissed off an old lady and got herself cursed and had some really bad time. It's kinda a fresh idea since we are getting bored about stories where there are always ghosts that haunt people for silly reasons. In this story, it sounds a little different as there's an evil spirit called Lamia that is summoned to drag the main character into hell. And unlike other ghosts, this one is really evil and nasty. How scary is Lamia? You have to watch it yourself. By the way, there are some holes in the story which I'm not really convinced with, but you can ignore them as the story goes on. And ya, there's a twist at the end of the movie which can be kinda expected.

The special effects in this story is up to the level of beyond your mind can take. There are many really disgusting scenes in the movie and thanks that they survived under those authority. In addition to some wind hitting against window kind of scenes, others are really creative and in good timing to freak you out. Take this example, a heavy object falls on a lady ... and the eyes just pop out! Yes, please, go to the cinema and feel this scene.

Overall, it's a movie definitely worth watching. Don't loose this chance to freak yourself out in cinema as there wasn't many scary movie can do as good as this one. Warning: not for the faint-hearted. So, watch it at your own risk.

THE RATINGS.....
CAST - 3.0 stars
STORY - 3.5 stars
CINEMATOGRAPHY - 4.0 stars
EFFECTS - 4.0 stars
an overall>> 4.0 stars
GreenTea-O-Meter: 14.5