Video Pick of the Week: "Drag Me To Hell"

The horror genre these days is in pretty bad shape. A majority of the output either wallows in sadistic gore (the endless 'Saw' series, Hostel, the 'Halloween' remakes) or are neutered by the more teen-accessible PG-13 rating. Even worse, horror films in general have forgotten to be two things in general: scary and fun.

Fortunately, two recent films have not forgotten. Based on what my friends have told me, the new "Paranormal Activity" manages to be both scary and fun without going overboard. The other film that offers fun with its frights is last summer's "Drag Me To Hell", which marked a very welcome return to the genre by "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi.

Alison Lohman plays a California bank employee named Christine Brown, whose life becomes a living nightmare when she refuses a request to extend the house loan (in the hopes of landing a job promotion) of an elderly woman named Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver). As things begin to unravel for Christine over the next three days, she becomes desperate to find a way to stop the curse and fight off a demon that has come to, you got it, drag Christine to hell.

Sure, the premise is a simple one and it doesn't sound all that much fun. But it is. Raimi, applying the formula of comedy and over-the-top horror theatrics (complete with intentionally cheesy visual effects) that made his "Evil Dead" series so great, never allows "Drag Me To Hell" be a downer for one second. It's tongue-in-cheek from start to finish, offering plenty of gross out moments, loud laughs and a healthy dose of well-placed scares, and the performances by Lohman, Justin Long (as her suffering fiance), Dileep Rao, Raver and David Paymer (as Christine's boss) are all quite good. Only in the last ten minutes does the film lose its momentum as it falls prey to predictability. At the point, however, I was having way too much fun to care all that much. Offering enough fun, frights and laughs to keep one entertained for 100 minutes, "Drag Me To Hell" is a nice alternative to the current sad state of the horror genre and makes for an ideal Halloween rental.

The film will be released on DVD and blu-ray disc on Tuesday, October 13th. Rated PG-13, 99 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.