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DRAG ME TO HELLMovie Reviews
Horror story about an ambitious young woman who must break the evil Lamia curse placed on her by an older woman she dispossesses of her home by refusing to extend her home loan. Cast:Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, David Paymer, Dileep Rao, Jessica LucasDirector:Sam RaimiRelease Date:May 29, 2009DVD Release:October 20, 2009From:UniversalRating:PG-13Length:1 hr. 39 min.
Drag Me to Hell played to excellent reviews. • Michael Sragow wrote in the Baltimore Sun, "Blood, guts, gore -- and more. Director Raimi adds wit and restraint to latest pop horror piece." • And Bill Goodykoontz wrote in the Arizona Republic, "Simply put, it's an outlandish amount of fun." More Reviews Below...
Drag Me to Hell Positive Reviews (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...an unabashed celebration of B-movie schlockery... one hell of a ride: You'll squirm, you'll scream, you'll laugh your butt off and beg for more."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 244 words, 05/28/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: EXCELLENT(cg) "...combines the best of schlocky fright flicks with classic supernatural thrillers.... unlike any scary thriller in a while: frightening, frenzied and fun."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 314 words, 05/28/09
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a sometimes funny and often startling horror film... it's like Sam Raimi is taking some personal time and returning to his hobby."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 790 words, 06/06/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Raimi is having the time of his life -- he knows exactly what he's doing with every scene and every scream.... If he has us squirming in our seats, then so much the better."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,031 words, 05/29/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "Sam Raimi's tongue-in-cheek horror flick returns him to where he got started, 'Evil Dead'-style. Raimi doesn't care whether you're laughing or screaming."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 472 words, 05/29/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This hellaciously effective B-movie comes with a handy moral tucked inside its scares, laughs and Raimi's specialty, the scare/laugh hybrid."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 622 words, 05/29/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "A near-brilliant comedy disguised as a quickie horror flick.... In this ghost story, the skeletons are made mostly of funny bones."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 341 words, 05/29/09
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "Raimi's homage to his auteur beginnings has at least as many laughs as scares, and generous helpings of yucky seepage in between."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 05/29/09
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "If the booga-booga shocks are sometimes repetitive, 'Drag Me' does its audience right in its last-act burst of giddy momentum..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 647 words, 05/27/09
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...offers lots of screams, gross-outs and laughs, often at the same time and always without one response ruining the other. That's a Sam Raimi trademark..."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 05/28/09
KEY CITIES (17 Reviews)
Dan Kois, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "What elevates 'Drag Me to Hell' above the level of exemplary horror movie is its mix of inventive supernatural gross-outs and carefully observed everyday details."(See all of Dan Kois's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 844 words, 05/29/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a blessedly goofy ode to gothic schmaltz that never pretends to be anything it isn't.... it delivers..."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 584 words, 05/29/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a lot of fun, even as it presents itself as a morality tale about avarice and moral hypocrisy.... wickedly jolly and disturbingly frightening - often at the same time."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 505 words, 05/29/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a loose showcase of everything Raimi couldn't have tried in a 'Spider-Man' movie - scatological gags, talking goats, a debate over Freud and Jung."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 774 words, 05/29/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...puts the goose in goosebumps.... a trip to the funhouse. In a masterful return to horror, Sam Raimi takes us to hell - laughing all the way."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 542 words, 05/29/09
John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Raimi fans, especially those who discovered him during his low-budget horror phase, will be thrilled by the movie's giddy mixture of shocks and slapstick."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 05/29/09
Kevin C. Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Raimi falters with too much séance hocus-pocus... But the director does know how to mix up horror and humor, which isn't easy to do well."(See all of Kevin C. Johnson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 271 words, 05/29/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a terror tale almost as fun as its tease of a title.... As we learned way back in his 'Evil Dead' youth, Raimi's brand of hellishly silly horror is anything but a drag."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 443 words, 05/29/09
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "If the booga-booga shocks are sometimes repetitive, 'Drag Me' does its audience right in its last-act burst of giddy momentum..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 647 words, 05/27/09
Betsy Sherman, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Proving you don't need buckets of blood to scare the bejabbers out of an audience. (A cascade of vomited cockroaches will do.)"(See all of Betsy Sherman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 172 words, 06/04/09
Andrew Dowler, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...offers lots of screams, gross-outs and laughs, often at the same time and always without one response ruining the other. That's a Sam Raimi trademark..."(See all of Andrew Dowler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 05/28/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...cunningly crafted in every detail -- direction, script, performances, comic timing, special effects -- from thunderous start to delicious finish."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 05/29/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Raimi is having the time of his life -- he knows exactly what he's doing with every scene and every scream.... If he has us squirming in our seats, then so much the better."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,031 words, 05/29/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a flagrantly schlocky horror yarn that will titillate the teens without alienating (Sam Raimi's) far pickier fanboy contingent..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 861 words, 05/20/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Raimi is having the time of his life -- he knows exactly what he's doing with every scene and every scream.... If he has us squirming in our seats, then so much the better."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,031 words, 05/29/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...cunningly crafted in every detail -- direction, script, performances, comic timing, special effects -- from thunderous start to delicious finish."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 05/29/09
12.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Drag Me to Hell's reviews are separated by an average 12.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Drag Me to Hell (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Drag Me to Hell's reviews cover 85.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 20,484 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 488 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Drag Me to Hell Coverage, Volume & Length (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 22.0 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Drag Me to Hell's reviews on average broke 22.0 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Drag Me to Hell's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Drag Me to Hell (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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