Drag Me to Hell short on
horror, big on humour —

By Mark Fisher

hen they’re not doing
Satan’s bidding, the
demons of hell do some

pretty pointless stuff in their off
time. Hanging out with metal
bands, guiding Ouija Boards,
making people’s heads spin,
forcing them to vomit (they really
love that one), I mean, come on,
is that really the best use of your
free time? I guess someone has to
go around tormenting pretty young
women, because otherwise horror
movies would never get made.

But Drag Me to Hell, which
opened in theatres May 29",
manages to set a new low for
demons everywhere —and that is
not an easy thing to do. The film’s
protagonist, played by the adorable
Alison Lohman, is relentlessly
pursued and tortured by a nasty
demon for... not approving an
extension of someone’s bank loan.
And this someone already got two
extensions already; and obviously
isn’t going to be able to repay it.
Come on Satan, these banks just
can’t give money away! Yeesh!

Now granted, director Sam
Rami, best known for directing
the Spiderman trilogy and the Evil
Dead trilogy, is mainly going for
laughs with this film. There are
some scary moments but the movie
is mainly a comedy rather than a
true horror film. Nothing in the film
is really taken seriously. But still,

it’s a little disconcerting to watch
12

 

someone who was just doing their
job and showed excellent customer
service skills get cursed with
eternal damnation.

The creepy old woman who
gives our hero the curse is a
memorable villain to say the least.
Sylvia Ganush, played by Lorna
Raver, is one of those old women
who scares little kids at the grocery
store and who smells like rotting
vegetables. After being rejected for
the loan extension, she becomes
the horror movie version of Wile E.
Coyote. She keeps chasing after the
adorable hero, only to meet with
a painfully funny death each time.
She even gets an anvil dropped on
her head at one point, causing her
eyes to bug out in cartoon fashion
(Sam Rami deserves some type of
award for being the first director
to do that in a live action film).
Mrs. Ganush also has a nasty but
hilarious habit of vomiting her guts
on Alison Lohman. Even when
you’re prepared for it, it will still
gross you out.

As I said, the film mainly goes
for laughs and it doesn’t have any
trouble getting them. It’s best to
see this film in a‘packed theatre
so you can listen to other people’s
reactions. Even if you’re not
normally the type of person who
yells out things during a movie,
this movie will probably have you
shouting out at least a couple times.

Just try not to vomit on the
person sitting next to you.

 

 

 

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