In partnership with Film4 FrightFest, the ICA is hosting a Q&A with Sam Raimi following a preview screening of his new and much talked about return to horror flicks, Drag Me To Hell. On 24th May (3 days ahead of its nationwide theatrical release) Raimi and stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long will be on hand to answer questions on all things hellish. If, like me, you'd rather spend a night with Raimi's bloodier side than his spandex incarnations then this is just what you need to liven up the bank holiday weekend.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow (8th May) and you can get them here.
Also check out the trailer over here.
I actually wasn't a fan of any of the Spidermans so share your scepticism, though from the trailer I'd guess the whole gypsy thing is a purposefully hokey device as opposed to a lazy cliche.
You can't really dump on a film simply because of it's rating. The fact is there were test screenings for both and R and a PG-13. Guess which one the studio chose and why. The R version will be out on DVD if that's all that matters. But these days ratings don't mean anything in horror. You can still find scary and/or entertaining horror films which are not rated R.
Having said all that, I also have my doubt. Certain websites are touting this as the Raimi comeback to horror but I highly doubt it. Once you have made commercial blockbusters which cater to the studio's perception of what the average viewer wishes to see, going back to do something in the vein of Evil Dead will be very hard. We will never see a Campbell/Raimi reunion so we have to make do with films like these.
I will be waiting for the DVD simply because I prefer to see the original Raimi version of what the film is supposed to be, sans studio intervention (or so I hope).
It's fine to be hokey. Sam does silly well. It'd just be nice to watch a hollywood film concerning a curse from a lesser-known source than gypsies. Too bad I don't own a magic wand to wave. Anyway, I hope it turns out good because A Simple Plan and The Gift were the works of an intelligent, confident filmmaker. That's the man I want to watch. The guy that painted mascara all over Toby McGuire's face can stay home.
That poster art still looks like the cover of a porn DVD to me. Her expression is one of orgasmic bliss and not of terror. I doubt that was intended. Very odd.