Hi-Sci-Fi

by Irma Arkus

So, I wasn’t crazy about the last Spiderman installment. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but after the agony of listening over and over again about the sophisticated technology used to create sand: wet sand, dry sand, drippy sand, moving sand, sand that looks like giant Sandman; I was quite frankly fed up.

But there is always a place for Raimi in my heart. The dude was responsible for both Xena and Evil Dead. Nuff said?

The latest Raimi’s release is “Drag Me to Hell” and it is a brilliant, rich, effective, smart, yet charmingly old-fashioned horror film.

The lackluster roster of teen horror drama has been empty, hollow, mediocre, repetitive and also, boring. But Raimi successfuly infuses his film with old fashioned story-telling and comes up with something that will keep you stuck to your seat.

Infused with comic genious, and chills of terror, Drag Me To Hell seems to have just about everything that makes a good film. Raimi crafts a fabulous story with Alison Lohman in the lead, as a bank employee whose only hope to climb the management hierarchy is to piss all over every human, moral fibre she has. In order to get the promotion, as it’s either her, or the new guy who can be only described as “dumb as a pile of bricks” yet ruthless, Alison decides to deny funds to an elderly lady. The lady in question isn’t exactly what she seems, and what could be an ordinary exchange of mutual “go-to-hells” yells, turns out to be far more serious.

The old bat is actually, you’ll love this, a gypsy. A witch. A witch with powers and abilities to produce actual curses. And so she does.

Alison experiences such terrifying horrors that it will make you truly take pause. After the pause, you will wish these upon all the guys on Wall Street. (I know. We’re so financially aggravated lately!)

Blood-curdling terrors. That’s the phrase describing Alison’s fight to stay in this place, rather than experience actual hell.

Funny, yes. But also very cool. The movie delivers, despite its PG-13 rating, a great deal of fun and horror, and successfully so.