An cute and ambitious loan officer named Christine Brown (Alison Lohman)decides to show her boss that she can handle tough decisions by refusing to give an old woman a third extension on her overdue mortgage payments. This decision causes a chain event of terror when the hacking old hag stops begging for mercy and turns vengeful and violent. The deranged old woman later ambushes and attacks Christine in the parking lot before finally subduing her long enough to place a deadly gypsy curse on her.

A battered and bruised Christine attempts to go on with her life as normal, but quickly discovers that she only has three days before an ancient demonic spirit will come to claim her soul and drag her to Hell. Morbid visions of the dead old woman and the incredible supernatural power of the gypsy curse repeatedly assault Christine as she searches to find the secret to removing the curse and saving her soul from damnation. Even nice people can go to Hell.

Sam Raimi returns to the horror genre and it’s been a long time coming. His last stab at a horror flick was Army Of Darkness way back in 1992. I was apprehensive because of the pg-13 rating, but I’m happy to report that this flick has enough shock and awe to keep hardened horror fans satisfied. DRAG ME TO HELL is noisy, fast paced, and over the top horror entertainment. This flick features jump scares that are so deafeningly loud they could split skulls. The family friendly rating does not stop the film from being full of wild scenes of supernatural attacks and demonic goats. There was camera work and violent imagery that immediately brought to mind the classic Evil Dead flicks. There was also plenty of the trademark Raimi black humor. The usual great sequences of the characters being thrown around like ragdolls and covered with various bodily fluids. And of course, the appearance of “the classic” 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. In short, everything fans have come to love and expect from a Sam Raimi movie.

Alison Lohman does a great job in the lead role and gets to show off a wide range of emotions, from timid and terrified to caked in mud and screaming murder. Justin Long is annoying as the romantic lead but he doesn’t spoil the fun. The villainous old woman is effectively creepy and disgusting. Many laughs were provided by the hag’s fierce biting and massive drooling. DRAG ME TO HELL is clearly a horror film with a big budget. It looks great, sounds great, and most importantly – the scares are there. But what really makes this film stand out from the pack of other pg-13 ghost flicks that have hit theaters in the last few years is the splatstick gallows humor that Raimi has always had a flair for. He still possesses the ability to successfully combine laughs and scares.

In a year that so far has been most notable for horror remakes, it’s refreshing to see something new with an old familiar face attached to it. There has been a great deal of anticipation building towards this flick and I think most of the people that were looking forward to this movie will go home happy. It’s hard to imagine what the legions of Spiderman fanatics or the weekend popcorn munching audiences will make of DRAG ME TO HELL, but I’m hoping horror fans will show some support and give this a go. I enjoyed it and I’m happy to give it the Brain Hammer seal of approval.

KEEP THE BLOOD FLOWING!!!