Drag Me To Hell (2009) (Theatrical) - 9/10

Drag Me To Hell was a very enjoyable time at the movies that really blended the in your face scare tactics with humor that Raimi is so famous for in the Evil Dead movies and updated it to interact with the current mortgage crisis and technology we live in today. It's a good sign when I literally jumped out of my seat more than 5 times in this movie which really packs a punch on trying to be believable one minute, only to throw it out the window for something so ridiculous its funny the next. The plot is kept simple and the rules are thrown at you throughout yet I never felt it was getting confusing or too complicated to where you're trying to figure out what the curse actually is. It was pretty obvious from the title what was going to happen and I think they pulled it off differently than I pictured, another curveball that I appreciate they didn't dumb down for the audience. Another element that really stood out was the sound design, apparently the star Alison Lohman broke her leg during filming and allowed the team to have 3 months to fine tune the sound effects and design and man did they do an excellent job. Raimi is all about building up the suspense and terror with the music only to scare you at the least likely moment, an intentional tactic that kept you invested in the characters while also squirming at your seat at the gross out moments. Drag Me to Hell isn't a perfect horror film and not the revelation everyone is touting it to be, yet I think it is a respectable return to horror for Raimi and a movie that I can see myself watching again on a late dark night with some friends. Those familiar with the techniques of horror films will eat this up even more.