"Raimi has created the perfect summer horror movie."

Fans of the Evil Dead movies, rejoice! Director Sam Raimi is back and better than ever with the highly entertaining Drag Me to Hell, a horror film that manages to simultaneously produce scares and laughs without skimping on the gore or the eye-popping visual gags. And when I say "eye-popping," I mean it! So grab your popcorn and your friends and check out Drag Me To Hell, a film that delivers big scare, big laughs, and a great time at the movies.

After denying a loan extension to an elderly gypsy woman and thus evicting her from her home, Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) finds out firsthand what happens when you shame a gypsy who can summon the devil-like Lamia and curse your soul to burn in hell for eternity. Over the course of three days, the Lamia relentlessly haunts Christine, who seeks the help of a local psychic (Dileep Rao) and her skeptical psychology professor boyfriend (Justin Long) to get rid of the curse before the three days are up and she's dragged to hell forever.

Raimi has created the perfect summer horror movie with Drag Me to Hell. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but it still delivers solid scares, entertaining thrill sequences, and enough gross-out effects to make you squirm, scream, and laugh all at the same time. The premise and the setup are simple, reminiscent of the classic horror films of the '50s and '60s, and Evil Dead and its Evil Dead 2 counterpart, with just enough story to move the plot along, one gag or scare sequence after another.

From the use of extreme physical acting, to the high-pitched laughter of the Lamia and the possession of inanimate objects (like books and other household items), Drag Me to Hell plays a lot like Raimi's Evil Dead movies, and yet delivers more in terms of characters, story, and actual direction. Where Evil Dead 2 blends together from beginning to end, Drag Me To Hell is a series of individual segments, like "the garage attack," "the fly in the mouth," and "the gypsy funeral." This colorful compilation of scenes is what moves the film along and makes it work, not only as an entertaining horror film, but as an overall engaging film as well.

But a movie has to be more than gore-gags and cool sequences to suck you in. The characters were developed and given more dimension than most PG-13 movies seem to possess. Christine was not only believable, but relatable. Struggling to get ahead in her job, she has a moment of weakness and goes against her moral character, but later regrets the decision and comes clean about it.

The only downside to the whole movie was Justin Long, which really bummed me out because I generally like him. But here, playing the skeptical voice for the movie, his talent is wasted. This role could have been played by anybody, that's how generic it was. And let's face it, having Long as a college professor wasn't a very good casting decision either, as the guy still looks like a teenager.

Drag Me to Hell is what summertime at the movies is all about. Packed full of thrills, with just the right amount of comic relief to cut the tension, the film doesn't skimp on the gore or the scares and features crazy camera movements, extravagant physical acting, a fare amount of bodily fluids, a terrifying (and fun) villain, and seamless special effects. Often imitated but never duplicated, Sam Raimi delivers a horror movie that's fun, scary, and a total crowd pleaser.

Grade: A-

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