Drag Me To Hell marks Sam and Ivan Raimi’s successful return to horror, mixing an assault of jump scares with random bits of hilarity to hit the funhouse-thrill ride highs of the director’s early work. In a summer crowded by super-serious blockbusters with end-of-the-world stakes, Drag Me To Hell’s simple, practically elemental storyline is a welcome change-of-pace.

The film follows Alison Lohman as Christine Brown, a moderately successful bank employee whose modest dreams of a job promotion and being well-liked by her boyfriend (Justin Long)’s parents are shattered when she is cursed by an old gypsy woman (Lorna Raver) for turning down an extension on a loan, effectively evicting the gypsy woman from her house. Damned to be dragged to hell by a soul-devouring goat-demon called the Lamia in three days, Christine turns to a seer (Dileep Rao) for help in saving her soul. Tormented by frightening visions and physical attacks from the angry demon, Christine must also juggle the real-world problems of a competitive co-worker (Reggie Lee) gunning for her promotion and an upcoming dinner with her boyfriend’s disapproving parents (Chelcie Ross and Molly Cheek).

There isn’t anything subtle or psychological about the horror here because, really, that’s not the point. Raimi brings out his favored bag of tricks here to keep your heart pounding at every turn. Dread sinks in everytime the soundtrack dwindles, and even though you know it’s coming – even though you can see it coming from a mile away – you’re guaranteed to be jumping out of your seat and cursing under your breath at Raimi’s every whim. What normally might feel cheap in a horror movie somehow maintains a feeling of kinetic fun; you almost want to get mad at Raimi, but you can’t simply because you’re enjoying yourself too damn much.

Mixed in with the scares are the trademark gross-out gags that Raimi’s famous for (there’s one particular moment at a wake where Christine becomes rather… encumbered by a dead body and TONS of embalming fluid). And of course, the offbeat humor always sweeps in enthusiastically, but only to more or less distract you from the next scare. David Paymer, playing Christine’s mild-mannered boss, is especially hilarious (look out for the nosebleed scene), and Reggie Lee is great as the oh-so-hateable Stu Rubin, Christine’s competitive co-worker. Justin Long is perfectly likeable as Christine’s boyfriend, though he isn’t given much to do.

The star of course is Alison Lohman, and she delivers at every level. She starts off as sweet, soft-spoken, and super passive-aggressive, but hints at just enough sass that when she finally does fight back, you can’t help but cheer. Frankly, she’s an actress that I wish worked more because she’s simply so flat-out good in everything she’s been in. There is an epic battle that takes place between Lohman’s Christine and Lorna Raver’s gypsy woman in an underground parking lot, and it is probably the most balls-out entertaining fight scene we’ve had in a movie so far this summer. Raver is excellent here, instilling in me a newfound terror of creepy seniors. I will never look at a handkerchief the same way again.

It’s odd to say, but Drag Me To Hell really is a breath of fresh air in a summer marketplace full of movies with Dark Knight-aspirations. In a landscape where blockbusters are becoming increasingly moody and “dark” (even when there is absolutely no reason to be), it’s great that there is still room for movies with a real sense of humor and no other ambition than to entertain. Drag Me To Hell is all of that, a movie that is simultaneously enjoyable, outrageous, and just a little bit fucked up. Sam Raimi proves he hasn’t lost his genre touch at all, and puts out a real gem for any horror fan out there. If you like to be thrilled and to laugh, then trust me: you should seriously consider getting dragged to hell this weekend.

Tags: Alison Lohman, Chelcie Ross, David Paymer, Dileep Rao, Drag Me To Hell, Ivan Raimi, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Molly Cheek, Reggie Lee, Review, Sam Raimi