A meek banker (Alison Lohman) is the unwitting recipient off a supernatural curse when she denies a loan application from an elderly gypsy (Lorna Raver). Unless she finds a way to break the curse in three days, she’ll be dragged to an eternity of torment in hell.

I was very disappointed by the fact that DRAG ME TO HELL didn’t turn out to be the sleeper success everyone was expecting it to be. It marks the long awaited return to horror for helmer Sam Raimi, and while it isn’t quite THE EVIL DEAD, it was still a ripping good horror flick that deserved to be seen by a wider audience.

Hopefully, with its release onto blu-ray/ DVD, DRAG ME TO HELL will finally get some of the credit its due. Despite the PG-13 rating, DRA ME TO HELL is still a surprisingly scary horror flick- that creeped me out big time when I saw it in theaters. While it loses a bit of it’s bite when seeing it at home (also- while the box heralds the UNRATED director’s cut- it doesn’t really boast any significant extra gore), it’s still very effective.

One of the best things about DRAG ME TO HELL is the great performance from star Alison Lohman. It really should have been a star making turn for her, and she does a hell of a job as the likable thing. What makes the premise work so well is that I didn’t want to see Lohman dragged to hell, and I was rooting for her throughout, despite the fact that she’s playing a flawed heroine, who’s momentary lack of scruples gets her cursed.

I also thought Lorna Raver made a great, creepy villain, as the one-eyed gypsy witch, Sylvia Ganush. Seeing it again, I was still squirming in my seat everytime she turned up- especially during her parking garage attack on Lohman, where she loses her dentures and starts toothlessly biting Lohman’s jaw. Ergh!

Video: Widescreen 2:35, 1080p High Def. DRAG ME TO HELL looks fantastic in High Def, with what looked like a fairly flawless transfer to me.

Audio: DTS HD 7.1, excellent sound mix that compares to how it sounded in theaters this spring.

Surprisingly, this blu-ray is fairly barebones, with a half hour worth of production diaries being the only bonus feature. No commentary, deleted scenes, or even a trailer. Pretty disappointing if you ask me, but the diaries are still fairly fun- with lots of mugging from co-star Justin Long, and a cool segment on how Lohman did all of her own wirework during many of the big set pieces.

It’s really too bad that DRAG ME TO HELL underperformed at the box office, as I was hoping this might mark a new horror direction for Raimi. Hopefully he’ll return to the genre after he finishes SPIDERMAN 4, but considering how massive a production that’s sure to be, it’ll probably be awhile before we see another fun horror flick like this from Raimi.