Drag Me To Hell (2009)

Drag Me To Hell (2009) was directed by Sam Raimi and stars Alison Lohman.

Now, I saw this movie well over a month ago. I really enjoyed it, yet I haven't been able to write anything coherent about it. It seems to just evade my grasp.

Raimi's gruesome glee is there in full force. There are scenes of absolute horror-comedy disgustingness you can't help but be swept along, such as the first fight between the gypsy woman and Christine. The gypsy woman loses her teeth at one point, and basically ends up gumming Christine's face. My immediate reaction was "Awesome!" and there were many moments that captured the joy of Evil Dead (1981).

But then... You could SEE the end coming from a hundred miles away. As soon as she puts the cursed button in an envelope identical to the one she gave her boyfriend, you KNEW what was coming. I just... this doesn't ruin the movie, it just... I can't decide. The fumbling bits would not have bothered me in ANY OTHER MOVIE, but from Sam Raimi...

Just...
B

Dead Alive (1992)

Dead Alive, also known as Braindead, was released by Peter Jackson and stars Timothy Balme and Diana Peñalver.

First of all, this movie blew The Lord of the Rings (2001) right out of my head. This is what Peter Jackson should be known for, not hobbits tromping around New Zealand, no offense to the LoTR fans. There were literally buckets of blood sloshing over everything. It was like the hallway scene in The Shining (1980), but with chunks. Simply awe-inspiring amounts of gore.

The only problem I had was at the end. When Lionel and Paquita, the heroes of this fine piece of cinema, kiss in the end scene, they are absolutely covered in what must be at least a dozen zombies' worth of goo, but they don't even wipe their lips. Things like that bother me in movies.

However, that scene is the least of the disgusting things contained within this film. I have a pretty strong stomach, and I still had some trouble at times eating my cheese and crackers. I threw all my limbs in the air with disgust many times throughout the movie, but I tell you, I never took my eyes off the screen.

However, there was never a scene that felt smug. Watching, say, Hostel, (2005) one feels as if the film-maker is sitting back, smirking to him or her self and thinking, "Those smucks won't be able to handle this." In contrast, Dead Alive seemed gleeful in its treatment of the disgusting.

Every way that a person could possibly be killed is shown in amazing, over-the-top detail. It's intended to be gross, but any torture it intends to bring upon the viewer seems entirely good-natured. The message of the movie is basically, "Gross! Dude, come look at this!" and that is exactly what makes it enjoyable.

Dead Alive is high camp of the first order! A+