LITERAL REMAINS

Christine is a loan officer in a bank.  She has a boyfriend named Clayton.  She tries to always to do the right thing, think on the positive side of life, but Christine is having a tough go at things.  Life seems to be one pile driver after another.

First off, she is in line for a promotion as assistant manager.  Her obstacle is Stu, also competing for the promotion.  Stu is an ass kisser, and does his best to make Christine look bad in front of the boss.  Secondly, Clayton’s mother doesn’t approve of her, and the woman hasn’t even met her.  Plus, in an effort to prove her mettle at work, Christine pissed off an old gypsy woman who put a curse on her, now an evil spirit called the Lamia is tormenting the poor girl.

Momma said there’d be days like this.  Momma said.

That damn Lamia is a persistent cuss, too.  As is the old gypsy woman, who dies after cursing Christine; her spirit haunts the amiable loan officer as well.  Luckily, Christine seeks the help of spiritual advisor Rham Jas.  Sadly, Rham Jas can only do so much; he enlists the help of a medium, Shaun San Dena, who fought the Lamia forty years ago and lost.  Mrs. San Dena is ready for a rematch.

Drag Me To Hell is The Evil Dead’s little sister.  That’s the best I can say about the movie.  I felt director/writer Sam Raimi was trying to be Sam Raimi; in going back to his roots, so to speak, he had the formula but not the magic.  Drag is derivative, and it plays too long.  Leading lady Alison Lohman is bland, and the medium wasn’t even really needed.  Some of the jokes work, some don’t; by the end of the movie, though, it all was just a little too silly.

If you’re a fan of Raimi, as I am, you are going to watch this movie no matter what, and you know what to expect.  Maybe I expected more.  I definitely expected better.

2.5 out of 5
the_novacula