By Douglas Pratt Pratt@moviecitynews.com
Drag Me To Hell
Sam Raimi’s 2009 horror thriller, Drag Me to Hell, feels like a remake of an old Universal horror film that never existed. The movie seems familiar while at the same time being refreshingly original in comparison to the majority of new horror films that invade the market each month. That new bugaboo, the bank loan officer, is the victim, when she refuses to stall on the foreclosure of an elderly woman’s mortgage. The old woman spits out a curse at her, and the rest of the 99-minute feature is about the curse methodically coming to pass. There are oodles of jump moments in the film-when was the last time a handkerchief made you leap out of your seat…twice?-and effectively conceived and executed characters, so that not only is the story compelling to follow, it is an effective thrill ride, clear up to its final turn.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released Drag Me to Hell as an Unrated Director’s Cut, presenting both the original theatrical version and the alternate version on the one platter. Both have essentially the same running time (the Director’s Cut is actually a few seconds shorter), but the gore is a little more intense in the unrated presentation. The picture is in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound is fantastic, loaded with directional effects and adding considerably to both the atmosphere and the screams. There are alternate French and Spanish tracks in 5.1 Dolby, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, and a very good 35-minute production featurette that essentially presents all of the most interesting aspects of making the film.
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