By Chris Summerfield
The movie was written by Sam Raimi and his brother, Ivan Raimi, and the movie was also directed by Sam Raimi. Elements of the movie being drawn from the, 1957 “Night of the Demon,” especially the three day curse theme and of course the very ending of the movie being on a railway line.
The movie begins as a flashback with a couple seeking the aid of a medium as they believe something sinister is coming for their son. The, medium, Shaun San Dena, (Flor de Maria Chahua) tries in vain to help, however an unknown force drags the boy to hell. Shaun, swears revenge.
The movie then goes to present day being forty years later. Christine Brown, (Alison Lohman) works within a bank and is seeking promotion though is in competition with a young new starter, Stu Rubin, (Reggie Lee), Stu, being aggressively ambitious within business and determined to win the promotion.
Christine, feeling she is second best to Stu, is put to the test when an aging lady arrives at the bank, Sylivia Ganush, (Lorna Raver) seeking an extension on her mortgage payment, even though the bank has already extended it twice. Christine has to make a tough decision if she is to impress the boss, even though Sylivia begs Christine for help. Christine is adamant that the bank cannot extend so therefore informs her that the house is to be repossessed.
Sylivia then confronts Christine in the banks parking lot, where she is hiding in Christine’s car. A fight breaks out and during the struggle, Sylivia, snatches one of Christine’s buttons from her jacket, rants a curse then gives it back to her.
Christine, left shaken, begins to suffer with hallucinations and is convinced something is following her. Her boyfriend, Clay Dalton, (Justin Long) isn’t so sure, believes she is suffering from stress and trauma, though, Christine, isn’t convinced and therefore, she goes to a fortune teller, Rham Jas, (Dileep Rao). He informs her there is an evil spirit stalking her.
As the movie progresses, Christine becomes desperate, as time is running out for her and is advised by, Rham, to seek the help of the medium, Shaun San Dena, she confronts the demon that possesses her assistant; at times flashbacks of, “The Evil Dead” come to mind. And after the séance, Christine assumes that’s the end of the demon, but learns the demon cannot be killed and the only way she can save herself is by giving the cursed button away.
You have to ask yourself, what would you do in her position and what lengths would you go to in order to save yourself? Yes there are a few ethical questions within this, cleverly plotted movie.
As for the special effects within the movie, they are extremely good, and a guilty pleasure of mine being when, Christine, suffers with a nose bleed within the bank…the blood spurting everywhere, soaking the bank manager. Haha to the Bank Manager
At times, the movie can be extremely creepy, the demon within the shadows stalking her and obviously the gore at times being disgustingly gory, in a funny and horrific way, kind of typical, Sam Raimi style.
Well done Mr. Raimi, a worthy movie and lesson to the greedy, especially if you know any crazy old ladies.
Rating: 8/10
