By Stephen Pytak 

     The Sam Raimi of today isn't the one I grew 
up with.
     He's a Hollywood big-shot now, and it shows.
     I remember when he was making films that
would really put you through the back of the
theater, like "Evil Dead (1982)" and "Evil
Dead II (1987)."
     Since then, he's directed "Spider-Man (2002),"
and its sequels and started Ghosthouse Pictures,
which has produced some O.K. horror fllicks
including the American version of Ju-On, 
"The Grudge (2004)."
    Like "The Grudge," Raimi's latest horror film, 
"Drag Me to Hell," is O.K. Kinda fast-paced
and funny. It's safe for teenagers to see (it's PG-13)
And it will  give "Evil Dead" fans a little nostalgia. 
There's at least one possessed dude in here who 
will remind die-hards of "Evil Ed."
    The story and characters aren't too bad. Alison
Lohman plays "Christine," a loan officer who decides
to evict an old woman from her home, in an effort to
show her boss she has what it takes to "make the
tough decisions." In turn, she finds herself on the
business end of a supernatural curse. The old woman,
"Mrs. Ganush," sics something called "The Black 
Goat" on her. The thing drives Christine nuts,
threatening to cart her soul off to Hades in three
days.
The film's script is fun. There are some tense moments.
This Mrs. Ganush is the most interesting villian
Raimi and company have concocted since 
"Henrietta" in "Evil Dead II."
But while his visual flair is fantastic, as always, you 
get the sense he's not going to take too many 
chances with the material. In other words, gorehounds,
don't expect anything R-rated. 
    But I had fun and I liked the ending. Nice
punch.