On Day 3 of Austin’s SXSW Film Festival, horror fans converged at the beautiful Paramount Theater for the midnight screening of Sam Raimi’s unfinished cut of Drag Me to Hell. Would that I went to every movie with this crowd. People came ready to love. When Ain’t It Cool News’ Harry Knowles, in orange Hawaiian shirt and lime green sneakers, wheeled out onto the stage to introduce Raimi, the audience members took to their feet at the mere mention of the Evil Dead director’s name. In between Spider-Man movies, Raimi had finally found time to return to his roots. Standing ovation. In his brief hello, Raimi came across like an endearing dork in a square black suit. He pratfalled as he walked across the stage, pretended to confuse his prepared speech with an eviction notice from the local Four Seasons Hotel, and then he got his tie purposely jumbled behind his glasses like a blindfold. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" he wondered. It was like watching your favorite uncle at Thanksgiving before he decides he ought to go nap.
As the curtains parted, a couple stray bats swooped circles up in the dimming lights and the crowd geek orgasmed. (Unlucky bats? Yucky promotional stunt?) The movie (in theaters May 29), starring Alison Lohman as a cursed bank loans officer (ha!), was funny and silly and smart and full of genuine screams that ended in happy snorts of disbelief. The delightfully gnarly death match in the parking garage between a crazy-eyed old gypsy and the delightfully cast Lohman should make one of EW’s inevitable future list of best fight scenes. IT WAS AWESOME. Standing ovation. Welcome back, Mr. Raimi.
Who out there is psyched for another Raimi horror film? Is there any way he could fail you? When will an old gypsy ever get to break typecasting and play the lead in a romantic comedy?
If I had money, I would bet you a million dollars that those bats were not a stunt. Austin has tons upon tons of bats.
The only way to dissapoint this long time fan would be if there was no cameo/fake shemping from one or all of the following:
Bruce(don’t call me Ash)Campbell
Ted(I’m his Brother) Raimi
Lucy(kick your butt)Lawless
and/or
His beloved car that has been in every film(except Quick and the Dead)since his High School Super 8 Days.
I live for those Cameos.
I’m not a huge horror fan but if Sam Raimi is involved then I. Am. There. I just watched the trailer and it looked awesome!
Ellen Page was originally cast. Would have liked to see her in the role.
But yeah, I’ll see this movie
And cue the self rightous indination and umbridge from self proclaimed leaders of the Roma (Gypsies) in 5, 4, 3, 2…..
Yes Raimi can do wrong. See Spider Man 1, 2, 3 and however many else they made.