I Got Dragged to Drag Me to Hell

Filed under there's a difference between films and movies

I was forced to see “Drag Me to Hell” on Saturday night because my friend Beth and my dear boyfriend both wanted to see it, and I couldn’t very well allow them to go without me and risk Beth pretending to be scared and jumping into Kamran’s lap at the first sight of some old lady puking embalming fluid into Alison Lohman’s mouth or something.

I, to say the very least, don’t choose to see horror movies. I was talked into seeing “The Mothman Prophecies” in college and still hear voices coming out of the sink. I was talked into seeing “The Strangers” last year and, um, basically can no longer function as a normal human being. And yet my last two boyfriends have been major horror freaks. Only the last one was kind enough to watch his movies while I was away at work, while the current one seems to delight in forcing me to watch “House of 1000 Corpses” over and over again.

So naturally, I spent most of “Drag Me to Hell” with my chin tucked into my chest to ensure that I wouldn’t accidentally see something horrific with my peripheral vision. After the opening scene in which I actually jumped and then laughed for five minutes straight out of nervousness, I thought it best for the other patrons that I not look during, say, the entire parking garage bit. The great thing for me–but maybe not for people who actually like to be scared–is that the music in the movie totally lets you know when something terrifying’s going to happen. And the one or two times when it doesn’t let you know, you’re left applauding the director for fooling you. And I was glad for those few times in the end, too, because it meant that I had to watch at least a little of the gore. When I did, I realized that the movie was mostly just shocking, gross, and over-the-top rather than pee-your-pants scary. I didn’t think the plot was bad at all, either, and there’s a lot to be said for that.

There’s also a lot to be said for the theatre where we saw the movie, Village East Cinema. It seemed to be fairly modern from the outside, but there were old-fashioned box seats on the sides like you’d see in an opera house, and this was on the ceiling:

Now if only ticket prices could harken back to that era.

4 Comments

  1. spaghedeity says:

    Oh, Kamran is one of those sweet, sensitive guys who has a thing for war & gore.

    I used to be attracted to him.

    • But his favourite film is ! That’s totally sensitive and sweet, right?! And totally gay! Even if it’s the most misogynistic movie ever made!

  2. Noel says:

    And I thought I was the only one who saw “The Mothman Prophecies” and still hears creepy voices in the sink 3 years later. So glad to know I am not alone! Of course it does not help that my husband takes great delight in saying, “Tragedy on the River Ohio” in a creepy voice late at night just because it scares the pee out of me.

    • Beth says:

      As one of the people Katie so politely talks about, I love horror movies. I don’t remember any scary sink bits in the Mothman Prophecies, but I do remember that movie being kinda scary.

      It had it’s moments. Mainly though I remember saying to myself, “Grace Adler in a horror film? Huh!”