BOTTOM
LINE: Director Sam
Raimi leaves the relative safe world of Spiderman to return to his
roots in this cleverly crafted, old-fashioned style horror film
that manages to really scare, surprise and make you laugh all at
the same time.
THE GOOD:
Horror films have degenerated in to torture and blood-lust
of late (see the Saw films as an example). The pleasure of watching
Director Sam Raimi’s return to the world of horror is that
it is very entertaining and fun. This film will scare you, make
you laugh and entertain right up until the final scare. The idea
is simplicity itself: a young woman crosses an old gypsy woman who
curses her with a demonic spirit, who proceeds to torment the girl
for three days until the spirit comes to drag her to hell. Raimi’s
special touch for delivering the scares and laughs is ultimately
what makes this journey so worth while. The fight sequence between
Christine (Alison Lohman) and Mrs Ganush (Lorna Raver) in a desolate
car park has to rate as one of the creepiest and funniest for a
long time, and goes well beyond anything you might expect, complete
with detaching eye balls. The show-stopping scene of the film however
is the séance mid-way through where Christine seeks the help
of a powerful seer to summon the evil demon and plead for her life.
The sequence begins in a very creepy and scary place with the demon
possessing the body of the seer, but then manages to multiple that
creepiness, with scares and laughs as the demon jumps gleefully
between bodies, including that of a poor goat offered as a sacrifice.
Lohman is effective in the lead role of Christine, generating a
lot of sympathy and sincerity for her character which make her plight
believable and ultimately tragic. Justin Long manages well in the
supporting role of boyfriend, taking some otherwise clichéd
material and making it believable. Lorna Raver is downright spooky
as the old gypsy Mrs Ganush. Although appearing several times to
scare the hell out of Christine (and us), her most effective scene
is in the bank; the moment where she stops begging Christine to
help her, with the soundtrack dialling down to silence, the look
on her face is extremely creepy, foretelling what is to come. Perhaps
the big star here though is Raimi himself, showcasing his commanding
ability to tell a good old-fashioned horror yarn that is well timed,
scary and funny, all at the same time.
