Sam Raimi Dragging Alison Lohman to Hell

There's some freaky imagery for you. The indomitable director of the great "Evil Dead" series, "Army of Darkness," and the "Spider-Man" trilogy clenching onto you, maybe by the ankles, as he saunters his way down the corridors of the underworld to Hell, probably with an odd, rattled gait as you bury your nails into decaying rock and soil to keep from going any further, screaming all the way down. For the purpose of this bit of news, we'll call it his return to form, and not some perverse plan of revenge after the lukewarm reception his "Spider-Man 3" received.

But in all seriousness, this looks fabulous as a comeback even despite its PG-13 rating. Even though the look is cleaner now than his past forays in the genre, it looks and paces like his greatest hits, with absurd camera movements (that were always effective) and lightning-speed flashy cuts of ugly people and demonic figures, and totally predictable "cheap" scares. The gypsy woman looks both hideous and laughable at the same time, and of course Alison Lohman plays into the whole thing in absolute seriousness which makes it an even more intense, involved experience. Raimi's films are undeniable and age better than most of his class (except for maybe Tobe Hooper and vintage John Carpenter and Wes Craven) because even when the effects are horrid or grotesquely exaggerated - as they seem to be here - the actors are body and mind commited to the effect. And, with few exceptions, they work because of that. Pure cinematic experiences in horror, his style has practically become a brand.

The trailer has debuted online via Yahoo! but is embedded below.
The film is also set to debut at SXSW (South by Southwest) next week in Austin, Texas, with some early reviews by fans and critics being positive if not ecstatic. It arrives in theaters on May 29th.


Ready to take the plunge into "Hell"?


IMAGE from: Slashfilm