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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Drag Me to Hell

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Drag Me to Hell reviews
83
5.9 User Score:

Movie Info

Genre(s): Horror  |  Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Sam Raimi
Ivan Raimi

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 29, 2009
DVD: October 13, 2009

Running Time: 99 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for sequences of horror violence, terror, disturbing images and language

Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Jessica Lucas, David Paymer, and Dileep Rao

Christine Brown is an ambitious L.A. loan officer. Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks, and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home. In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas to save her soul from eternal damnation. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse? (Universal Pictures)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Raimi has made the most crazy, fun, and terrifying horror movie in years.

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100

Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey

With that fire in his belly, Raimi's Drag Me to Hell does everything we want a horror film to do: It is fearsomely scary, wickedly funny and diabolically gross.

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100

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

This film is cunningly crafted in every detail--direction, script, performances, comic timing, special effects--from thunderous start to delicious finish.

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100

Washington Post Dan Kois

As in the best horror movies, Drag Me to Hell keeps the audience on the edge of hysteria throughout, so that every thump sets the heart racing and every joke earns a slightly out-of-control laugh.

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100

Film Threat Matthew Sorrento

With brother Ivan as his co-writer, Sam tosses out a delightful batch of tense, hilarious set pieces. The two are giggling behind the proceeds like the Coen brothers scripting fresh off a critical triumph.

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100

Slate Dana Stevens

Brilliantly nasty little horror film.

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91

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Raimi’s new film feels distinctly unburdened and fun, happily frolicking in its own pulp silliness.

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90

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Raimi's still very much up to his old tricks, retaining that deliriously over-the-top brand of Grand Guignol horror that he had abandoned by the mid-'90s in pursuit of other genres.

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90

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Truly, this is manna from hell.

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90

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Unlike so much contemporary horror, it's devoid of sadism and mean-spiritedness. The looseness Raimi allows himself here results in an especially joyous kind of filmmaking, the sort where the filmmaker's delight in scaring us (and making us laugh) becomes part of the movie's fabric.

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90

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

After directing three Spider-Man movies, Sam Raimi makes a masterful return to the horror genre.

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89

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Nothing short of horror-hound heaven.

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88

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Raimi knows how to modulate his technique, as with the coolly controlled morality tale "A Simple Plan," but he's a firm believer in the power of an active, expressive camera, as well as the value of insinuation.

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83

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Raimi as a filmmaker is clearly having more fun than he's had in years. So will his fans.

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80

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

Drag Me to Hell has a tonic playfulness that’s unabashedly retro, an indulgent return to Mr. Raimi’s goofy, gooey roots.

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80

Village Voice Nick Pinkerton

If the booga-booga shocks are sometimes repetitive, Drag Me does its audience right in its last-act burst of giddy momentum, sustained by crack editor Bob Murawski through a burlesque exorcism.

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80

Empire Chris Hewitt

Thrilling and often hilarious, it’s good to see one of Hollywood’s most inventive directors fully reinvigorated. On this form, Spider-Man 4 should be a belter.

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80

Variety Peter Debruge

The picture is single-mindedly devoted to pushing the audience's buttons, and who better than Raimi to do the honors?

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75

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The movie is a goofy, ridiculous blast, and yet Raimi means business: Even the precociously cute kitty isn't safe in this one.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

A Raimi-esque mix of gross-out madness and sick laughs.

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75

Premiere Staff (Not credited)

Fear not those who worried about Raimi after the last "Spiderman" debacle. There is no musical number here. The tongue is planted firmly in-cheek. The spirit of "Evil Dead" lives on.

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75

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Working with his brother Ivan, Sam Raimi is laughing with us - and often louder than we are.

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75

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Horror-movie heaven.

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75

USA Today Claudia Puig

Drag Me to Hell is unlike any scary thriller in a while: frightening, frenzied and fun.

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75

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

An unabashedly schlocky, expertly executed blend of jack-in-the-box jolts and humour.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Amy Binacolli

If you can stomach the projectile-sputum gags and stapled-eyelid attack scene, it's hilarious.

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75

TV Guide Jason Buchanan

A popcorn film that aims to entertain -- nothing more, nothing less -- and it achieves that goal admirably.

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75

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Quick and lowdown-delightful. It's also a graveyard or two up in class from the torture films that, in recent years, have redefined horror for the worse.

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70

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

Drag Me to Hell is an eyeball-gouging lesson in how to make a genre flick and live to tell about it.

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63

New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott

Even if the obligatory third-act twist arrives with all the subtlety of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Drag Me to Hell otherwise steers mostly clear of predictability.

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50

New York Post Kyle Smith

Drag Me to Hell is pure cheese. Goat cheese.

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50

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Although Drag Me to Hell mostly fails as horror, it achieves sporadic success as a comedy.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.9 (out of 10) based on 235 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Curtis H gave it a0:
Worst crap I have ever seen. Please god, I wish I could erase this retarded trash from my memory. Do not see this!!

Brent J gave it a3:
I can't believe the critics loved this one. It was a totally cheesy movie. A few scary scenes & a few funny ones, but overall a pretty stupid movie.

Graham R gave it a4:
I was really looking forward to this and it was such a big let down! It was watchable as a one-off, but I wouldn't watch it again. It was far more funny than scary. The ending was so obvious, my wife and I knew it was coming and so did everyone else in the cinema. I have seen worse, but this was very poor.

Dave gave it a0:
My wife and I made it through the first 15 minutes and wrote off the $5 pay-per-view fee as a total loss. If you have a sudden desire to watch this movie, don't.

Matt C gave it an8:
The sheer amount of varied reactions on this page should really tell you everything you need to know. If you can turn your brain off, sit back and revel in a film that is over the top in its dark humour, its fx and its intent, and knows it, then you'll probably like this. If you're looking for a gory hardcore horror flick, you probably won't. Personally, I got everything I wanted out of it. It was exactly what I expected Sam Raimi to deliver, and he did it superbly. Its not trying to change your life, its just trying to entertain you the best way it knows how. I thought it was awesome.

Grant gave it a0:
Really bad. Tries to be a so-gross-it's-funny, so-campy-it's-funny, so-bad-it's-funny movie but is only kinda gross in parts. Definitely not scary. Definitely not well-written (or well-cast -- the apple mac guy plays a college professor from a well-to-do family). The whole movie my friends and I were going "huh? why? what? gross! was that supposed to be funny? how long is this movie?" I tell you what--it cost a dollar to rent this from a red box and about 5 minutes to write this review and I feel this movie doesn't deserve either. Just skip it.

Bryan F gave it a10:
I honestly don't know where these bad user reviews are coming from. With so many "Horror" movies out there that rely on nothing but shock value, I find Drag Me To Hell refreshing. What I liked most of all is Raimi's ability to create scares that you never see coming. It also has an ending that will leave your jaw dropped. My only complaint was there were 1 or 2 scenes where the lead actress's acting was less than impressive. If your tired of horror movie cliches, such as high heel shoes breaking and "don't go in there!" scenes, then watch this film, it will not disappoint.

Read more user comments >

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