Sam Raimi is best known as the man behind the "Spiderman" franchise, but he's also widely regarded as a master of the macabre and of horror. After all, he broke through in 1981 with "The Evil Dead" after fixating on horror movies as a child. Before age 10, he was making 8-mm home movies.
"I was always attracted to strong actions. I like strong reactions," he notes quietly. "Subtle comedy wasn't my thing. The Three Stooges, that was my thing. Oh, boy, was that my thing!" he says, fondly laughing. Indeed, many of Raimi's films feature Stooges-like sequences. Asked if they're meant as homages to the zany trio, he simply avers, "I just think they're clever, funny sequences."
Raimi's latest offering is the un-Stooges-like "Drag Me to Hell," which would seem to be another teen-targeted gorefest. But it isn't. It has Raimi's psychological touch, which some critics as well as admirers have labeled "intellectual angst" or "enduring to the limit." The film's tagline is: "Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days she's going to hell."