DRAG ME TO HELL (A-)

Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long and David Paymer
Story: Christine Brown is an ambitious L.A. loan officer. Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks, and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home. In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas to save her soul from eternal damnation. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse? (Universal Pictures)
Rated: PG-13
Bottom line: A festival of scares, gore, laughs and purposeful cheese. Equal parts all. …and, in a novel, horror-movies of late twist…it actually entertains! Director Sam Raimi returns to his horror roots (although some would argue that SPIDER-MAN 3 was pretty horrific) and delivers us a knockout movie with a title perfectly suited for either a really great scary movie or a really bad Ashton Kutcher film (apologies for my redundancy there).