Drag Me To Hell (in a handbasket)

DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)

Alison Lohman..........Christine Brown
Justin Long.................Clay Dalton
Lorna Raver................Mrs. Ganush
Dileep Rao..................Rham Jas

PATRICE

I don't know if I should start because I thought it was fairly lame.

I had the impression that it was actually dark and scary, which is what I expect in a horror movie... and it did get a little creepy in some parts, especially at the beginning of the appearance of the demon presence:  when Christine is at home and the thing is lurking and throws her around, that was actually a little frightening. What annoyed me was the way they did the scenes with the old gypsy woman. She was creepy and ominous in the build-up... but when the action started with her, and throughout the movie, I found myself annoyed with the ridiculous, almost slapstick approach. I half-expected a laugh track.  I definitely did jump a few times, must  admit there were some things that did scare, still…

I didn't dig the girl. She was pretty dippy. I was distracted by her dizzying array of hairdos.  And not at all believable as a loan officer.  Pfft.  However, I loved the psychic guy and thought his scenes had more of what I was hoping for as far as the ominous foreboding. Plus, I just liked him.  And I like Justin Long, and as funny as he is anywhere else, he managed to play a great straight role in this movie. I liked his performance.

KELLY

I enjoyed DMTH.  I do agree that it was marketed in a way that leads one to believe that the movie will be darker and scarier and not so campy.   Right after it was released, I read a couple of reviews that commented on the campy nature of it, so I guess that's why I ended up enjoying it, I knew going in what sort of feel to expect.

There were a couple of moments that did make me jump and want to cover my eyes, but I found myself laughing out loud more than I found myself getting scared. About halfway through the movie I noticed that others in the theater seemed a little more at ease and we were all commenting "don't go in there" and such.

PATRICE

I was SO grossed out by the stuff with the old woman.  The bodily excretions made me want to barf.

KELLY

Yeah, those things were played up quite a bit and I whole heartedly agree they were very nauseating, but I got such a kick out of those gags. When she's first in the bank and she's oozing and dripping and her teeth, oh god, her teeth...

PATRICE

… and the loogie she hocked up…

KELLY

Blech!

PATRICE

I know!

KELLY

Oh, something I noticed in the film…I wasn't sure if it was basic product placement or if it was supposed to be just a little nudge towards Justin Long's other gig, but I laughed out loud when they showed a close-up of his iPhone and his Mac.  Gotta get that Apple plug in there!

PATRICE

I didn't even think about that - they're so ubiquitous now.

KELLY

I liked the story itself and I think it could have been so much scarier, but I think Raimi was wanting to hearken back to his earlier projects, which he did a decent enough job of.

PATRICE

Well like Ghost Busters - more funny than scary.  So what did you think about the whole bank/boss/rival thing?

KELLY

Didn't think on that part too much. Good enough set up to create the opportunity for her to interact and piss off the old hag, so that worked. But I really kept hoping something bad would happen to the rival. But I'm a spiteful bitch...

PATRICE

No, I'm with you. As soon as the psychic said "you have to give that to somebody" I was yelling "oh, oh, the dude at the bank!”  Then he turned out to be a douchebag anyway.

That whole part of the movie was nothing more than a reason for her to meet the old woman and then to have someone to potentially ruin, which she didn't do.  I was disappointed.

And what was with the "you used to be fat" stuff?  She did eat a lot of crap when she got upset, that's for sure. But I don't know where they were going with that.

And the boyfriend's parents…Again, just a setup for her to experience the demon that no one else could see or hear.

Seriously improbable scenario there: they hate her until she blurts out that her mother is an alcoholic who never goes out... like that has anything to do with anything anyway... and then they're all, "oh she's so refreshingly honest, now we like her".  So odd.

KELLY

I understood the scenario with meeting the parents, gives the excuse for the demon to wreak havoc, but I also found the part where she admits her mother is an alcoholic and everyone celebrates it to be a little contrived.  First they don't like her, then they like her, then there's weird stuff in the cake and they don't like her yet again. Back and forth, back and forth.

PATRICE

Oh yeah, the scene with the eyeball in the cake - I guess they were just trying to work in more hallucination/special effects.

And the repetitive over the top scenes where she's doing battle with the old woman...those, while funny at times, got a bit old and very, very drawn out.  The incident in the tool shed started off tense, but then by the end of that scene, I was ready for it to be done, just a little too much in my opinion.  Overkill.  Chocolate syrup is good on a sundae, but when it runs out the side of the bowl, you need to stop.

PATRICE

All of the stuff with the old woman struck me that way.  It should also be noted that I was watching the director's cut, so there was extra stuff in there, but I don't know what it was and what was there originally.  I agree with you, that's exactly what my feeling is – overkill.  Just because you can do it, doesn't mean it adds anything.

KELLY

I saw it in the theater, and there was overkill in the theatrical version, so lord knows what you got!

PATRICE

Rilly.

KELLY

The movie was basically predictable. When the button/nickle plot point took place, totally saw that one coming a mile away.  But then again, maybe you were supposed to see that coming, so you were focused on that and not how it was going to end.

PATRICE

Don’t forget about  the whole digging the coffin up scene...oy!  First of all, no fucking way could she have done it, obviously, but damn, talk about drawn out

KELLY

Ha!  The coffin scene was funny, but once again, overkill, got old after a bit.

Oh, I just remembered the kitten scene. L Didn’t you find that to be heart breaking?

PATRICE

That was completely unnecessary.

KELLY

Maybe that's why they did it.

PATRICE

Seriously,  that pissed me off that they even put that in there!  Can’t even talk about it…

I did like the goat! 

KELLY

OMG! Yes, the goat was the best part of the movie!  That part made me laugh my ass off!

PATRICE

If you watch the extra features on the DVD, it turns out that they had to use a mechanical goat because the real one was so friendly. 

KELLY

So they replaced the goat because it was overly friendly?  What, did they expect to find one with a demonic attitude?  It’s a freaking goat!

PATRICE

They couldn't get him to just stand there - he kept looking at the actors and trying to nuzzle them at the table in that scene.

KELLY

Aww…

PATRICE

Yeah, the trainer kept saying he was just too adorable.  His name is "Billy", of course.  He was cute though - they showed some of the training in the extra stuff.  The extra material on the dvd was better than the movie, they showed how all the effects were done and interviewed all the actors and most of the designers.

Not that it matters, but the set up for the story, with the hispanic family and the demon ghost and the woman, was also not really necessary.  Hell, they could have just made up somebody who exorcises demons and it would have worked just as well.

KELLY

Agreed.  I mean, I guess can understand someone being so upset about losing a child to a demon that they'd be out for revenge, thus the motivation to take this case even though she was basically retired, but yet another victim of overkill.

PATRICE

Come to think of it, so much of it was just contrived.  I'm not saying I hated it, but I guess it was disappointing to me. 

And they went to great lengths to create the look of the film, I mean, shit you would never notice.  Like with the psychic's shop - you would not believe the detail of the shit in that room.  They created this very elaborate backstory for him and I'm like...why?  None of that is in the movie.  They were showing all these fake books they made, the portraits on the walls, the tea he drank, the thing he smoked...

KELLY

Maybe he'll be a spin off…

PATRICE

That wouldn't be a bad idea, I liked him more than the rest of the movie.

KELLY

But when it comes to the look and feel of a movie, you at least want to get the props accurate, I get that

PATRICE

Yeah, but I didn't notice any of that shit and wasn’t able to see most of it in those scenes, just learned of it when viewing the extra features.

KELLY

Well, despite the fact that I some of the scenes were way over thought and over done, and given that it was less scary and more campy, I did enjoy the movie.

PATRICE

I would say I did get some enjoyment out of it.  Not a huge endorsement, but it did have its moments.

KELLY

That's an improvement, because initially you called it lame!

PATRICE

 Nah, I still think it was lame.  It had some good bits, but just overall tried too hard.

KELLY

So, final verdict? I'd recommend watching it.  It was fun, though not necessarily scary

PATRICE

Yes, if you go into it knowing that it's more about the effects and that it is more funny than scary, then you will definitely enjoy it for those aspects.