Sam Raimi
Drag Me To Hell

"From the director of Spiderman" this is a ridiculous line they could only write in Italy. In fact, out of 300 people in the theater, at least 100 were young kids drawn in by the mention of the web-slinger on the cover. Obviously, this is absurd. You can't imagine the joy I felt seeing the bewildered faces of these youngsters when they realized that the director of their Spiderman is a phenomenon from the underground, a term that is quite alien in their minds. Oh... poor things! These kids couldn't witness the digital wonders and commercial flatness they were used to with the golden-webbed Blockbuster! What a satisfaction!!!! (and what foolish faces!.. sorry!) But let's get to the movie review:

It all started after watching "Spiderman 3", I asked myself "is it possible that Raimi has to ruin his style for money? for a heap of money?" The answer is obviously YES! Annoyed by all this I decided to appear in a dream to Sam Raimi one winter night... thanks to the spells of an ancient Sumerian book called Necronomicon Mortis (a reprinted version today). While Raimi swims in a huge pool full of dollars in his dream... I enter the scene with an "Evil Dead 2" shirt and a preacher's air and exclaim these words "Very well Sam! Did you enjoy yourself with billions? Did you feel the thrill of being a superstar? Did you strut among money, prostitutes, and champagne? Now you've pissed me off! I'm one of your damn disciples from way back... did you think that people like me would not eventually rebel against your artistic bastardization? I come here on behalf of your old fans! It’s no longer time to play the star... Sam.. COME BACK AND MAKE US HAVE FUN LIKE THE OLD DAYS!!" then I disappeared... and I must admit that.. my appearance worked! Not exactly like the old days, but it worked!

"Drag Me To Hell" is a brilliantly successful mix of Horror, black humor, splatter, bad taste, and cartoon comedy, or simply put: a Splatterstick Movie Sam Raimi style. Of course.. the times of "Evil Dead" (the unforgettable first installment) are far away, back then what mattered was to amaze, provoke, and scandalize, with the true spirit of underground cinema, today the ingredients are re-proposed.. but in a more commercial context, even inserting a moral-themed plot like "don’t treat the different poorly", rhetoric a bit unexpected in a film signed by a director known for the morally improper. However, this is not enough to make me disappointed.. because serving this subtle respectability is him... it's Sam Raimi who, for a moment, left his scripted blockbusters for the masses to entertain his audience like in the golden days. We find in this film his unmistakable style: fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping scenes, pure terror alternates with genuine slapstick comedy, dizzying shots, cartoonish editing, heart-stopping sound effects, crazy situations... it’s him, and he’s back!

Those not used to old-school Raimi might be disappointed with the sometimes quite strong black humor; during the screening many comments like "but is it a comedy?" - "but it’s funny!" of course I wanted to answer "emmmm... YES... It’s Sam Raimi, you ignorants!" But patience... they didn’t know.

One thing is certain.. many of the laughs heard in the theater... were hysterical laughter! Laughter to ease an obvious fright! I hadn’t seen an audience so involved in a horror film for over 10 years: very loud laughs, half-meter jumps from the chair, screams, nausea complaints, endless comments, it looked like witnessing an attraction at Disneyland.. Raimi enjoys himself with his audience, creating a film of pure entertainment. And I’d like to add one thing... much better a film like this, with deliberately comic tones, than any horror movie released in recent years.. that in taking themselves seriously turn out unintentionally comical. In short... "Hostel" or "Saw" are "serious" films much funnier than "Drag Me To Hell". So welcome back to Sam Raimi (who never takes himself seriously, and that’s great).

What's wrong? Well... for those like me, who have made Raimi's style an artistic inspiration, there are various things they miss... some old-school directing techniques could have been put in too! Like the impressive tracking shots in sequence, repeated slam-zooms, hand-made acrobatic shots... oh well.. those were different times. But surely, from our side, we have enough elements to admire again the genius of terror. A SCREAMING sound! The purely frightening scenes are accompanied by sounds that would scare even a marble statue (let’s remember that the magic of "Evil Dead" was also due to sparkling sound effects) the grotesque horror situations the film's protagonist gets into remind us momentarily of the legendary Bruce Campbell - Ash! Like when our anti-heroine returns home and is assaulted by the forces of evil! Here comes Raimi in action: objects that animate, heart-pounding sounds, demons, sudden changes of shots... and she tries to invent something to save herself... something that leads to the grotesque, arousing fear and laughter, just like old Ash in "Evil Dead 2". All this is enough to make me feel chills down my spine.

Unfortunately, this film, despite its quality, has a huge limitation; it will appeal only to Raimi’s nostalgics or those who love grotesque Horror. All those who expected 100% Horror full of monsters, blood, and dramatic situations will be disappointed. This film is funny! You laugh after a whopping scare (like when you almost shit yourself on a roller coaster.. but then after the death loop you burst out laughing), you laugh when there are purely comedic situations, you laugh when you see a puke-inducing scene (hysterical giggle)... you laugh simply because you are in front of a product of 100% entertainment. On this side.. the film is a masterpiece. For all other viewers, instead.. total disappointment! With comments at the end of the screening like "what kind of movie is this? I’d rather watch Boldi and De Sica", yes.. but with a girlfriend replying "eh yes.. but you were also jumping from your chair during the scary scenes!"

Legendary Sam! I should appear to you more often in dreams! Next time I’ll suggest a remake of "Evil Dead 1", but not produced by you (as you’d like to already do) but written and directed! Let’s hope!

Bye master.