The running times are almost exactly the same but the effect is rather different in spots, and not always for the better a pet sacrifice scene that was already pushing it in the theatrical goes way overboard with blood splashes in the unrated, most notably, but the hilarious nosebleed scene is arguably better. Released on Blu-ray and DVD in late 2009 by Universal, Drag Me to Hell sported two cuts, the PG-13 theatrical one and an alternate unrated version with some bloodier shots here and there. Incidentally, this was also the first and, at the moment, sole film Raimi made for his Ghost House Pictures company (co-founded with Robert Tapert), which had already set a track record in the genre with The Grudge series, Boogeyman, and 30 Days of Night. However, the tone of the film is too much like a rollercoaster to leave a severe aftertaste, and anyone who loves Raimi will be in heaven as the director unleashes his whole arsenal of cinematic tricks from start to finish (apart from a smattering of badly dated CGI). The wild disparity between Christine's 'crime' and the nature of her punishment can make the film an uncomfortable sit for some viewers (no spoilers, but this film plays really rough), with a nasty and rather bleak world view underlying the whole story when you really get down to it.

Lohman proves to be a good sport and manages to play the material completely straight (no mean feat considering the extensive abuse her character endures), which makes the moments of Evil Dead-style insanity all the more effective. A fine return to form for Raimi, Drag Me to Hell manages a tricky balancing act between deep-seated dread and outrageous horror comedy. Christine tries to conceal the horror from her professor boyfriend, Clay (Long), and ends up seeking help from psychic Rham Jas (Rao), a process that leads to a particularly wild seance as she tries to discover a way of turning back the curse before it's too late. When Christine refuses the woman's public begging, the humiliation leads to a supernatural gypsy curse (via a button on Christine's coat) that will subject her to three days of escalating physical and psychological torment before she's plunged into hell. Frustrated with the difficulty of getting a promotion at work at a local bank, loan officer Christine ( Matchstick Men's Lohman) proves to her boss that she can make hard decisions when she refuses to extend a loan that would save the home of elderly Hungarian gypsy Mrs. Openly inspired by the Jacques Tourneur classic Curse of the Demon, Drag Me to Hell is, as of this writing, Raimi's next-to-last big screen feature to date and still an energetic, go-for-broke slice of demonic pandemonium that proves PG-13 horror can still deliver full-strength shocks.

Horror fans were more than a little relieved in 2009 when Sam Raimi offered a palate cleanser after the disastrous Spider-Man 3 with a much-needed return to his horror roots. Scream Factory (Blu-ray) (US RA HD), Universal (Blu-ray & DVD) (R0 HD/NTSC/PAL) / WS (2.40:1) (16:9) Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer

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