Description

Sam Raimi co-writes and directs this supernatural horror. Ambitious young bank loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is approached by a mysterious old woman, Mrs Ganush (Lorna Raver), asking for an increase on her mortgage. In order to safeguard her promotion prospects and impress her boss, Christine denies her the loan. In retaliation, the old woman places a powerful curse on Christine, turning her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by her sceptical boyfriend (Justin Long), she seeks the aid of psychic Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. As evil forces close in, Christine must now face the unthinkable in order to break free of the curse… After dedicating himself for the best part of a decade to the Spider-Man franchise, director Sam Raimi returned to the horror genre with tremendous style in 2009 with Drag Me To Hell. A film that fused together the ethos of the directors earlier Evil Dead movies with the toolbox of tricks that hes picked up since doing big blockbuster movies, its a fabulously fun and quite unnerving piece of cinema. Raimis working on a lower budget than weve seen him with for some time with Drag Me To Hell, but not for the first time, he makes every buck count. Few directors know the horror genre as well as Raimi, and he generates tension and jumps from clever set-ups and expertly executed sequences. Plus, hes little intention of following the horror movie template here, which adds to the sheer entertainment factor. So whats so special about the Blu-ray? The extras package isnt particularly enticing, after all. Yet the picture quality and quite stunning sound mix lift the film notably. The latter in particular, as the sound stage is swamped by subtle noises and audible shocks works extremely well, and is perhaps the best among a few reasons for considering a high-def upgrade here. A strong movie, wonderfully presented. –Jon Foster