Literally ‘Drag Me to Hell’

With Sam Raimi attached to Doctor Strange, let’s look back at his 2009 horror film that’s (unfortunately) more relevant than ever.

Marvel has brought on horror and comic book-movie veteran Sam Raimi to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the upcoming sequel to Scott Derrickson's 2016 pseudo-psychedelic MCU film.

Derrickson left the project earlier this year due to irreconcilable creative differences with the studio. He isn't the first Marvel director to do this, and he likely won't be the last. Which is why it’s hard to be excited about this news, as much as I'd like to be. When Derrickson, an accomplished horror director in his own right, was still attached to Multiverse of Madness, it was described as the MCU's "first horror movie" — a seemingly perfect setup for Raimi to step in. Too bad the chances of Marvel letting him make an actual Sam Raimi Film are slim to none (for every Thor: Ragnarok there are like 20 Captain America: Civil Wars). 

Which brings me to today’s rec — Raimi’s 2009 horror romp Drag Me to Hell, not the director’s best but certainly a valiant effort that sits comfortably in his horror filmography. It’s also more relevant than ever, now that we’re all living at the absolute mercy of our merciless landlords, banks, and insanely incompetent, self-sabotaging federal government. 

Drag Me to Hell follows Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a young loan officer tasked with evicting an old woman from her home in order to keep her bank job and secure a promotion. Most of us have probably been in a similar position at one point or another. Under capitalism, we’re all incentivized to demonstrate “tough decision-making,” which usually means punching down, hard.

Anyway, Christine makes the “tough decision” and the old woman curses her with a demon that will torment her for three days, then drag her to hell for eternity. The “torment” that follows is executed in a series of delightfully Raimi-brand setpieces of gore and supernatural terror via a winning combination of practical effects and CGI. 

PG-13 horror movies are always tricky, running the risk of lacking teeth under the rating’s content restrictions. But there are plenty of good ones out there, and Drag Me to Hell is certainly one of them. There’s also an “unrated director’s cut” of the film, which I haven’t seen. Maybe it's worth checking out. 

Drag Me to Hell is a fun time that also presents a clear, folkloric vision of a terrifyingly prescient issue. It offers a goddamn timely warning call: It’s up to us to help each other out, however we can, right now. If we don’t meet the demands of empathy and compassion that this horrific era of human life calls for, we’re all gonna be dragged to hell.