Things You Didn’t Know About Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell

As far as big-budget studio horror films are concerned, few have been more successful over the past decade than Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell. In addition to netting more than $60 million globally, the film currently has a 92 percent Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating and an 83/100 Metascore.

Co-written by Sam Raimi’s brother, Ivan, the film follows a demure bank loan manager named Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), who upon turning down a desperate gypsy woman named Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver), is hexed with a demonic curse called The Lamia. With the help of her boyfriend Clay (Justin Long) and exorcist Rham Jas (Dileep Rao), Christine fends off the demonic scourge the best she can.

10 Written In The 1990s

Although Drag Me To Hell was not released until 2009, the two Raimi brothers wrote the screenplay for the film back in the 1990s under the title of The Curse. The idea was to make the film after they completed Army of Darkness, but other projects drew their interest away.

Rather than making another horror movie, Sam Raimi made a major departure with the 1995 comedy-Western, The Quick and The Dead, starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Russell Crowe. Ivan Raimi would go on to create and pen four episodes of the TV series, Spy Game.

9 Bruce Campbell Declined A Role

As per usual, Raimi wanted to cast his longtime friend and frequent collaborator, Bruce Campbell, to play a role in Drag Me To Hell. Unfortunately, Campbell was too busy filming his TV show Burn Notice, at the time, and had to decline the part.

While his potential role was never divulged, Campbell would have likely played Christine’s bank manager, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer). Raimi and Campbell would join forces again on the TV series, Ash Vs. Evil Dead.

8 Folkloric Inspirations

The underlying plot of Drag Me to Hell draws on several international folktales, namely ones of Greek and Germanic origin. In Greek mythology, Mrs. Ganush closely resembles the Furies or Eurynes, spiritual entities summoned by those wronged by others, as a means of exacting accursed revenge.

In Germany and Austria, a similar entity known as Krampus holds similar power, albeit centered around the Christmas holiday. Krampus would reward children for good behavior, but drag mischievous children to the underworld for eternity.

7 Loose Remake

While Drag Me to Hell pulls from various folktales, the movie is also a loose remake of the 1957 film Curse of the Demon (aka Night of the Demon), directed by Jacques Tourneur. The film stars Dana Andrews as an American professor who, upon receiving an accursed piece of parchment, is terrorized by a malevolent demon before ending in a similar graveyard location.

A similar plot can also be traced to at least two 1970s TV shows. The 1976 episode of Happy Days, “The Evil Eye,” featured a very similar plot in which Al is cursed by a malefic demon. Also, a 1977 episode of Alice called “The Hex” features a nearly identical story, in which Alice is confronted in a diner and cursed by a vengeful old lady.

6 Lamia Demon

In the film, Mrs. Ganush curses Christine with the torment of The Lamia, a cloven-hoofed, lamb-shaped demon. However, in reality, Lamia is a far different beast altogether.

In Greek mythology, Lamia is a bogeywoman known for skulking the country for little children to feast upon. The tale became popular in Greece, as a way to get young children into bed at night. Visually, the beast is often depicted with a snake-like tail, reptilian body, and as a half-woman-half-serpent hybrid.

5 Offered To Edgar Wright

Before agreeing to helm the film himself, Sam Raimi offered Edgar Wright the chance to direct Drag Me to Hell, likely on the strength of his game-changing zom-com, Shaun of the Dead.

Unfortunately, Wright was already committed to making his murder-mystery action spoof Hot Fuzz and was forced to decline the offer. He also voiced that he wasn’t the right fit for the project. Wright would go on to make Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, The World’s End, and Baby Driver before returning to the horror genre with Last Night In Soho, due in April 2021.

4 Alison Lohman’s Preparation

Ellen Page was originally cast in the role of Christine Brown, but left production to star in Whip It instead. When Alison Lohman was cast, she underwent rigorous preparation. In addition to watching several old horror movies, she performed nearly all of her own stunts in the film.

One exception comes in the final graveyard scene, in which Lohman’s body double was used for a quick shot. The camera cuts from Christine’s face (Lohman) to a shot of her backside while climbing out of the grave (body double).

3 Cameo Appearances

Drag Me to Hell features a slew of cheeky cameo appearances by Raimi’s friends, family, and frequent collaborators. For instance, Sam’s brother, Ted Raimi, plays the doctor in the film.

Raimi’s Evil Dead II co-writer, Scott Spiegel, also appears in the film as a bereaved guest at the funerary feast. The film’s music composer, Christopher Young, also shows up at the beginning of the film as a bakery customer eating a cupcake in front of Christine. Sam Raimi himself even appears as a spirit during the climactic seance and Octavia Spencer plays a background character in the bank when Mrs. Ganush is escorted out.

2 Sibling Shoutout

In the film, Sam and Ivan Raimi include a heartfelt shoutout to their deceased older brother, Sander, who drowned in a swimming pool at the age of 15 while vacationing in Israel.

The subtle nod comes during a line of dialogue spoken by Shaun San Dena (Adriana Barraza), who mentions her deceased husband Sander in passing. Sander is also the name of Sam Raimi’s eldest nephew, Sander Rubin.

1 Evil Dead References

Given the array of references to Raimi’s most famous horror movie, it becomes clear that Drag Me to Hell takes place in the Evil Dead universe.

In addition to Raimi’s personally-owned yellow 1988 Delta that appears in all his movies, Christine utters the line, “I’m going to get some,” en route to the cemetery, which is a direct reference to Ash’s catchphrase “come get some” in Evil Dead. Clay also mentions his parents’ cabin that is private and has trees, a direct nod to Raimi’s first feature. The film even starts with the same 80s-era Univeral logo popular at the time that the Evil Dead movies were made.