I was not at tonight’s test screening of Drag Me To Hell, Sam Raimi’s upcoming ‘spook-a-blast’ starring Alison Lohman. But I wish I had been. I really do. Because the word coming out of it sounds quite uniform, boiling down to one sentiment: Sam Raimi is back!
I’ve been sent a couple of quick reviews (that I’m not going to run) from people I don’t know and could call folks I do know and trust to get other first-hand info, but at this point all I want to do is help build a little momentum and interest in this movie. The stuff Universal showed at Comic Con was so much fun — I laughed and squirmed and nearly launched out of my seat, all exactly the way Raimi wanted me to. The footage was delightful to an old horror geek, and so close to that vibe that Raimi hasn’t given off in many years. I’ve been dying to see it show up in some official form. So far: nothing.
We’ve got a couple stills (above and below) but not even a teaser poster. The stills don’t capture it, and I don’t know if the poster will…we need a great, kickass trailer. And we need it soon.
Because Raimi has stiff competition this year. Drag Me To Hell is scheduled for May 29. That’s a week after Terminator: Salvation and the same week as Up and the wide release of The Brothers Bloom. Very few people seem to know this film exists, and it’s dropping right in the middle of a little geek orgy. If the reactions from tonight are on target, Raimi doesn’t need the core geek audience, because he’ll have any willing audience in the bag. So how about it Universal? Ready to pony up and start showing off what Raimi can really do?
[Morning EDIT: Here are a few reactions that appeared online from trusted sites and folks: Ryan Rotten’s at Shock Till You Drop; Quint’s at AICN and a piece at Collider.]
