Before he did the Spider-Man trilogy, director Sam Raimi did tacky, intentionally over-the-top horror flicks, and did them very well. Consider his latest, ‘Drag Me to Hell’, a return to form. It is a horrifying and actually rather compelling story: A bank loan officer named Christine denies an old, somewhat frightening woman an extension on her mortgage. She puts an ancient curse on Christine, that gives her 3 days to appease the devil or else she will be dragged into hell for all eternity.

It sounds ridiculous on paper and it still is ridiculous in the movie itself. But it’s just all too much fun to truly care. It’s over-the-top, and completely unrealistic. Eyes melting out, dead bodies grabbing people, even a simple fight scene is played for laughs. Although it’s not really scary, ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is really creepy and gory for a PG-13. It’s not evil horror, it’s campy horror. But the easily frightened will pee their pants, no questions asked.

Alison Lohman as the haunted woman, Christine, plays the “horror movie girl” stereotype really well. She has a sweet, innocent quality that makes you really care for her character as the film’s increasingly ludicrous events progress. She can also scream really well, a talent no doubt necessary for a horror movie. ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is not a politically charged satire. Nor is it a frivolous frat boy comedy. Nor is it an Academy-Award winning epic about the struggle to move a mountain. It’s about a girl not trying to get dragged to hell. Take it or leave it. Tons of fun. ***/****