Clockwork (1978)

2 / 5 May '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Sam Raimi
Actors include: Cheryl Guttridge, Scott Spiegel
Genre: Horror, Short
Length: 7 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So this is where it all began for Sam Raimi (along with the precursor to The Evil Dead called Within the Woods). It's a short film that certainly oozes "Student Film" left right and centre. It's grainy and very cheap looking (though the aged print may have been the issue with this) and it's certainly not very well developed plot wise. We watch a Woman move about her apartment before going to sleep (though we see someone standing outside who is obviously ready for some killin' action). She wakes up to some noises (for some reason El Killer is throwing a Ketchup bottle and being destructive towards condiments?) only to find of course that the murderer is in her house. If only she'd invested in doors that weren't made of paper perhaps this tale could have gone differently. It's just really nothing much to see, it's not gory, it's not scary and it's not even interesting. I suppose Raimi buffs may want to have a gander like I did and heck I suppose it will only waste 7 minutes of your time.

Availability:  Not on DVD

Drag Me To Hell (2009)

3.5 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she's going to hell.
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Actors include: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver
Genre: Horror
Length: 99 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I'm actually surprised that I liked this, the last handful of new horror films I've watched were pretty lousy. It's very typical of his style still, it's got cartoonish violence and a very over the top nature which makes it quite comical and he doesn't scrimp on gross effects either. The story is rather entertaining, it's about a young loan officer named Christine (Alison Lohman) who is in line for a promotion at work. She's informed she'll have to make some tough decisions so when an ugly disgusting Gypsy woman comes in wanting an extension on her house loan, she decides to deny her. Let's just say things don't go so well from there as the Gypsy curses her and suddenly she's suffering in nearly every way imaginable. She's left racing about trying to figure out how to get rid of the curse, meanwhile she looks incredibly insane. It's quite a fun little picture and although it's very cheesy in many places, and far from frightening it still makes it's point, and I liked the concept. It kind of reminded me of Night of the Demon [Curse of the Demon] which is a better film but heck for a relatively new horror film I did like this and would recommend it.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray