Drag Me to Hell

Sam Raimi, the Spiderman director, returns to his horror movie roots. Eager to enhance her prospects of promotion, bank worker Christine (Alison Lohman) humiliates Mrs Ganush, a strange gypsy woman, by refusing her a loan. After Mrs Ganush's house is repossessed, she casts a terrifying curse on Christine.

Andrew Pulver, the Guardian: Raimi is a master at maintaining a particular type of cinematic tone: scary without being unwatchable, and revolting without losing wit. (For example, as they argue, Mrs Ganush tries to bite Christine, but she has forgotten she's taken her teeth out.) (Verdict: three stars out of five)
 
Chris Hewitt, Empire: Just as nobody goes to see a David Mamet film for the stunning visuals, nobody watches a Sam Raimi film for nourishing dialogue. And, in terms of visceral cinema, Drag Me To Hell is his most satisfying movie in ages. That it often feels like a lost cousin of the Evil Dead trilogy is no accident - this is the movie Raimi needed to make before he could move back into the big-budget arena; a low-down, cheap, nasty return to the vibe of the films on which he was granted most creative freedom. (Verdict: four stars out of five)

Kevin Maher, the Times: The movie is fundamentally a morality tale that channels the primal pull of the best fables. And certainly it's this draw, rather than the gross gags and jump shocks, that keeps you transfixed, in horrified childlike awe, on Christine's descent. One deliberately immoral action, the movie says with biblical authority, can send you straight to Hell... It will be a huge hit. The re-invention of horror begins here. (Verdict: four stars out of five) ·