Released in 2009, Drag Me to Hell is a supernatural horror movie starring Alison Lohman and Justin Long. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Raimi and his brother Ivan, the movie tells the story of Christine Brown – a young woman who falls victim to a horrifying curse.
In the movie, Christine is a loans officer working for a bank in Los Angeles. Keen to move her way up the corporate ladder, Christine sets her sights on a vacant Assistant Manager position at the bank.
While working towards her goal, Christine is approached by elderly customer, Sylvia Ganush, who asks for an extension on her mortgage repayments. Deciding the only way to achieve her promotion is to be firm with her customers, Christine declines Mrs. Ganush’s extension request, causing the old woman a great deal of distress.
Humiliated by the experience, Ganush places a curse on Christine, which sees her tormented by a malevolent spirit keen to take her soul. Unless Christine can lift the curse in three days, she is destined to spend eternity in hell.
Sound’s creepy and kind of awesome, doesn’t it? Well it is. Drag Me to Hell is a devilishly good horror film, and arguably one of Raimi’s best.
But what do you know about the film? And could you know more?
Well, if you would like to know more about Drag Me to Hell, then you should read on. In this post are eleven facts about the movie, to enhance your viewing experience.
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Slow descent to Hell
Drag Me to Hell had a very long journey to the big screen. In fact, the story was conceived by the Raimi brothers over a decade before the movie went into production.
So, why did it take so long for the film to go into production? Because throughout the majority of the ‘00s, Sam Raimi was too busy working on other projects, namely Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
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A curse by any other name
The movie was originally called The Curse. This name was changed to the more dramatic (and arguably better), Drag Me to Hell, when the project went into production.
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Casting
Ellen Page was initially cast in the role of Christine, but dropped out of the picture due to scheduling conflicts with another production. With Page out of the film, the part was recast, giving Alison Lohman the opportunity to take the role.
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The car’s the star
At multiple points throughout Drag Me to Hell, Sylvia Ganush’s car is prominently featured on screen. While the car might belong to Ganush in the movie, in reality the vehicle is Sam Raimi’s 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 which appears in almost all of his movies.
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O brother, where art thou?
Sam Raimi’s brother, Ted Raimi appears in Drag Me to Hell in a minor role as a doctor who treats Christine. Raimi appears almost entirely off-screen, with only his voice giving away his identity.
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An Oscar winner
Academy award-winning actress, Octavia Spencer appears in a blink-and-you’ll-miss her role as a colleague at the bank. She only appears in the background, so if you don’t look out for her, you won’t know she is there.
And this isn’t the first time that Spencer has appeared in a minor role in movie from director Sam Raimi. The actress previously appeared in Spider-Man (2002), playing the part of the check-in girl who speaks to Peter Parker at a wrestling match.
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Money talks
During the course of the movie, Christine gives her boyfriend, Clay, a coin to add to his coin collection. The coin – a 1929 Standing Liberty quarter – becomes a significant part of the plot.
In the movie, Clay notes that the coin is rare – and he’s not wrong! In the real world, a 1929 Standing Liberty quarter is a much sought-after coin, which can carry a value of up to $250 if it is uncirculated.
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Cameo curse
John Paxton – father of actor, Bill Paxton – appears in a small role as an elderly customer in a diner. In the scene, Christine contemplates transferring the curse to another person, with Paxton a potential candidate.
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Death count
In total, four people die during the events of Drag Me to Hell. The first death takes place during the prologue, which is set during 1969, while the remaining three deaths take place in 2009.
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The sounds of Hell
The music for Drag Me to Hell was composed by Christopher Young. Prior to working on the movie, Young provided scores to two of Raimi’s films: The Gift (2000) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
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A Hellish hit
And finally, when Drag Me to Hell was released theatrically it received mostly positive reviews from critics, as well as the big ‘thumbs up’ from audiences. Budgeted at $30 million the movie went on to take $90,842,646 at the worldwide box office and won the 2009 Scream Award for Best Horror Movie and Best Scream-play.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post about Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell – I hope you found it informative. On a personal note, Drag Me to Hell is one of my favourite horror movies, and watching this in a packed cinema back in 2009 is to date my best ever movie-going experiences, as the audience LOVED this film.
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