A horror film like no other

MANILA, Philippines – Viva International Pictures’ latest release, Drag Me To Hell, will make you re-think what you’ve always believed to be true about horror-suspense flicks.

Drag Me To Hell, directed by Sam Raimi, is one of the most critically-acclaimed horror films to date. The initial Hollywood buzz claims that when Raimi set out to direct the movie, he was aiming for something halfway between his first two Evil Dead films, but ended up with much more.

The movie is about a bank officer named Christine Brown who makes the mistake of turning down an old Gypsy woman’s application for a loan extension and thus becomes the victim of a demonic curse placed on her by this vengeful old lady. The Gypsy attacks her, curses her, and soon she’s under assault from evil spirits intent on, quite literally, dragging her straight to hell — hence the title. Critics who saw the unfinished film at a special preview-in-progress hailed it one of Raimi’s best, calling it “genuinely scary” and a horror movie that “doesn‘t aim to infect your dreams, or leave you scrambling for your local exorcist. It‘s an exercise in style, and craft, and in fun.”

Drag Me To Hell is highly-anticipated because it is different from typical horror films. As one reviewer pointed out, “There are a few moments that are visceral and skin-crawling, but it’s not a wall-to-wall bloodbath at all.  It’s more akin to Robert Wise’s The Haunting in terms of using sound and editing to suggest, rather than make explicit.”

Raimi has recently presented the film at a special midnight preview at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the festival’s official selection. He was accompanied to Cannes by the movie’s main cast.

Drag Me To Hell stars Alison Lohman, who first made her mark in Hollywood when she took on the lead role in the film adaptation of White Oleander alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Robin Wright-Penn and Renee Zellweger. Lohman has also starred in Matchstick Men and Big Fish.

Drag Me To Hell opens today in theaters.