Back in the dark ages, before Spider-Man, Sam Raimi was a struggling film director who created one of the scariest and creepiest films of the time: The Evil Dead.  With only limited blood and violence (and a shoestring budget), he developed a terrifying atmosphere of demonic forces, a dark and evil forest, and inescapable horror (with the now recognizable drop of humor and cheese that Raimi greatly expanded in the two sequels).  Now, he and his brother Ivan have returned to this format with Drag Me to Hell.  In some ways this can be a considered a response to the stream of horror-porn-gore which has become so commonplace these days (in film series such as The Saw and Hostel).  Drag Me to Hell is meant to prove you can frighten and entertain without stooping to those levels.  And on that score it does succeed.

The plot is pretty simple, and follows the time-honored horror film tradition: don’t screw with a gypsy.  Alison Lohman plays Christine, a young loan officer at a bank.  A former farm girl, she wants to distance herself from the past, including trying to eliminate any country accent; she longs to be a successful, professional woman.  She and a coworker are both up for a promotion to assistant manager, but her competition (Reggie Lee) has a reputation for being able to make the “tough choices” (which translates, in this case, into not giving the customers a break, but doing whatever possible to increase bank profits).  When an old woman comes in to ask for a 3^rd extension on her overdue mortgage, Christine’s boss tells her “It’s a tough decision.  It’s your call.”  Eager for the promotion, she denies the request, and the old woman will now be evicted.  Even after she gets on her knees and begs, Christine does not change her mind.  But this old woman is, of course, a gypsy…now an angry gypsy.  “You have shamed me!” she tells Christine.  Soon, after a violent garage confrontation, Christine is the recipient of a powerful curse.  In four days, unless she can defeat the demon or convince it to take someone else, her soul will be taken to hell to suffer eternal agony.

What follows is a partially generic, but well done, horror story.  Christine is tormented by the demon, and struggles to get her dopey and overly understanding fiancé (Justin Long) to believe her.  While trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy (including a Raimi-style humorous visit to meet her future in-laws), Christine enlists the help of a local medium to guide her through this nightmare.  Overall the frights work well, and Lohman plays the part very well.  My only real problem with the film was a plot twist which I saw coming from miles away.  However, I know I look at films in a very analytic fashion, and the audience reaction was such that maybe it was just me.  So if you want a good scare, without sex and blood (there are plenty of gross moments, and a hilarious nosebleed, but no limbs chopped off), check it out.  Drag Me to Hell is fun.