Escape to the Movies: Drag Me To Hell

[Kif]

Can't win em all I guess, first Movie Bob review I've disagreed with. However, I'm horribly desensitized by Eastern horrors so I found DMTH more predictable, cheesy and comical than scary and couldn't help but pick up on character flaws and poor writing while waiting for it to end. Which BTW is an incredibly predictable ending in a twist style that I wish people would stop using so much. Even Scream made a parody reference to the genre's use of such an ending.

Each to their own though, the other people enjoyed it... but then they think Transformers is the best movie ever made.

 

[GDW]

Can't win em all I guess, first Movie Bob review I've disagreed with. However, I'm horribly desensitized by Eastern horrors so I found DMTH more predictable, cheesy and comical than scary and couldn't help but pick up on character flaws and poor writing while waiting for it to end. Which BTW is an incredibly predictable ending in a twist style that I wish people would stop using so much. Even Scream made a parody reference to the genre's use of such an ending.

Each to their own though, the other people enjoyed it... but then they think Transformers is the best movie ever made.

I was about to argue that it was, indeed, supposed to be cheesy, predictable and comical. That the writing was horribly cliche and doing more as an homage to classic horror films and that the ending, which is the absolute best way they could have ended it, was fantastically well done and made me smile, knowing that he lovesa good cliche ending and isn't afraid to go back to his good ol' gross-out days even when the rest o f the world thinks that Eastern horror is the final frontier...

...but then I read your last statement in which you were implying that I enjoyed a fucking moment of that cinematic abortion that Bay is so happily giving us a sequel to. I'm willing to bet you, cash money, that most of the people who adore mainstream, big-effects garbage didn't like "Drag Me To Hell" any more than you did.
I don't think I like you.

 

[13lackfriday]

My major issue is the whole gypsy thing. The villain is clearly of the old skool gypsy variety, the kind that in movies that is always an old lady and knows how to curse. So if this is a 'traditional' movie gypsy, why does she have a mortgage? Why isn't she travelling around?

It just feels like the recession has been crowbarred in there to make the film seem more relevant...

lol, way to politicize and bring the whole "gypsy" gimmick into context.

You wait until you hear what I have to say about the Snow White and Seven Dwarf clear anti-communism overtones! (just kidding)

Hmm...you may have a point there.

Disney's never been totally immune to politics, and it'd certainly make sense given the era it was produced in (I think).

 

[leugim789]

when going to a movie, here is the first rule, leave your shit outside the theater, you might find you enjoy more, when you're not trying to pick at it.

 

[beddo]

I don't really get this film, it seems to be a juvenile dig at the world of banking. Moreover, it seems quite misogynistic. To be honet though I wouldn't expect anything different for a horror film director who clearly has issues with female kind. Also, one who directed the awful Spiderman films.

It's difficult enough for a woman to make it in the industry yet by quite rightly following company guidelines as she is contracted to do she is to become culpable for the wrath of a woman who is essentially stealing by borrowing beyond her means and refusing to pay the money back. I'm not going to see this, if I did I think I'd be disappointed about it being just another pathetic cliched horror film that is way beyond its sell-by date.

 

[Kif]

...but then I read your last statement in which you were implying that I enjoyed a fucking moment of that cinematic abortion that Bay is so happily giving us a sequel to. I'm willing to bet you, cash money, that most of the people who adore mainstream, big-effects garbage didn't like "Drag Me To Hell" any more than you did.
I don't think I like you.

I was actually saying that my friends are fickle with movies and will enjoy anything... they enjoyed Spider-Man 3 too. You read waaaay too much into the statement, but my point is everyone is entitled to different opinions and even if DMTH is supposed to cheesy and comical it wasn't a movie I enjoyed... unlike the very obvious cheesy and comical Shaun of the Dead which I loved.

 

[Wounded Melody]

I for one was a big fan of the evil dead series. I just went and saw evil dead the musical in fact on it's preview night. I'll have to check out drag me to hell cause it's just lookin so BA.

Wasn't the musical just EPIC? I saw it in NY when BRUCE CAMPBELL did a q&a after the show!!!

 

[jabrwock]

I laughed at the whole concept of the crotchety old gypsy woman with a mortgage. It was such a silly setup the alarm bells should have been ringing all over the place. But that's classic Raimi. Like driving to the old decrepit cabin in the deep dark woods that you know belongs to someone else, and then messing around with occult material you find. That's just asking for trouble.

Someone I heard didn't like the ending (no spoilers here), but I'll say that it sounded classic Raimi as well.

 

[snuffler]

arbitrary text

Wasn't the musical just EPIC? I saw it in NY when BRUCE CAMPBELL did a q&a after the show!!!

It was super hilarious. I would've loved to see the Q&A. That guy has literally got to be one of the best actors I've ever seen. I was surprised to see his cameo in the first Spider-Man as the ring announcer when Toby Macguire fights the big wrestler dude. It added a nice touch of nostalgia to the film, but it just wasn't the same seeing him without a chainsaw and a shotgun . He also made cameo appearances in spider-man 2 and 3, though I can't remember which scenes he was in in those two.

 

[DC1]

Hey Everyone,

I'm not normally a fan of modern horror films, but I thought DMtH was great. The gross-out humor and the climax really made it worth the effort to sneak into the theater.

 

[kristallmagier]

Yay, Moviebob got his own place at the escapist. Congratulations! I have been a devouted follower of your Game Overthinker films and really enjoy your work.
Getting some on a weekly basis is really a treat.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Tech Team FTW!]

My advice:
Buy a better quality microphone and use some tone alteration in your voice beyond the occasional, and somewhat odd, extreme basal tones that have been computer edited.

Oh yeah, don't use the cunjunctures so much between paragraphs; it will make the review flow btter.

 

[TOGSolid]

I absolutely hate movies where they put jump scares instead of actually scary things. I could make a movie filled with things jumping out. It takes a real artist to have you afraid to go to sleep at night.

Only movie to ever really do that to me was Arachnophbia when I was little. Living in Georgia at the time + a story about poisonous spiders = good luck have fun trying to sleep.
While I love the Evil Dead flicks, I never thought them to be scary, they were cheesy and fun and that's why I loved them. However scary? Nah. DMTH doesn't really seem to have the same level of cheese that Evil Dead did though. If that's the case, I'll pass.

The sound is wonderful, but when you notice the sound becoming really quiet after the 2nd spook out scene you just know that another is coming after each silence.

F.E.A.R. had this exact same problem. I'm not sure how anyone thought that was scary.

 

[salmonax]

Reviewers seem to like regurgitating the idea that this was Raimi's return to top form, so I was *really* looking forward to seeing DMtH. Unfortunately, what I got instead was something flabby, plastic, and, I thought, pretty forgettable, with an easy handful of missed opportunities and some pretty tepid set-pieces. I didn't hate it, but my hopes were certainly dashed, and it was discouraging to know that THIS is the sort of fare that passes for a solid return to Evil Dead-era horror.

Nice review, though I disagree with the conclusion.

 

[imsdal]

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[300lb. Samoan]

I friggin' loved this movie...it's a blast as long as you don't take the plot too seriously. I'm sick of how the horror genre has degenerated into a bunch of torture porn movies, so this film was refreshing and enjoyable. Nice review Moviebob.

Quoted for truth! I also loved how it takes the piss out of gory flicks by scaring us with everything EXCEPT gore. Watching her barf cockroaches centipedes and maggots all over that girl was much scarier, grosser, and cooler than watching someone get their limbs torn off. And the sound design was excellent!

I wish there was an easy way to get to your older reviews, I went from your Recent Articles column on your profile but that only goes back to the Wolverine Trailer. This is my new favorite video series on Escapist, congratulations!

 

[Ajna]

... Is it just me, or are his reviews more entertaining when he likes the movie he's reviewing?

I agree, it's too easy to go the Yahtzee route when a film is mediocre or just plain bad, I actually enjoy the nerdlove when it's shown. In fact, I might just watch it again.

It's much better the way it is, in my opinion. When he first started releasing videos it was very obvious that he was just trying to just be Yahtzee for films, and the Escapist is not big enough for two people who do nothing but swear and rant. While I still think he needs to find a style of video that differentiates him more from Yahtzee, I've enjoyed this review and his review of Up! far more than I did any of his earlier ones, because he's managed to find his own style of reviewing.

He reminds me of a Yahtzee that tends to like most things he sees, rather than dislike. And that's a good thing, in my opinion. The style is good (simple pictures, fast pace, etc.), but the way it's presented is different (optimistic, different subject matter, etc.) enough that it doesn't feel like a clone.

I like Escape to the Movies.

 

[Ajna]

MovieBob.... Please stop making videos... They are horrible...

I'm certain he's glad for the constructive criticism on how to improve his style you provided, as it will help him greatly. Every artist loves to have someone tell them how to improve on their work, rather than, say, be a useless mouthbreather that causes the higher lifeforms among yourselves to weep with misery (for we are the same flesh as you).

Oh, wait, quoted the wrong post. Nevermind.