After denying an old lady the extension she needs to keep her home, a young loan officer is besieged by a horrific curse threatening her soul with eternal damnation. A film by Sam Raimi, starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza, Chelcie Ross, Reggie Lee, Molly Cheek, and Bojana Novakovic.

In 1969 Pasadena, California, a farm worker couple (Alexis Cruz & Ruth Livier) brings their son Juan (Shiloh Selassie) to young medium Shaun San Dena (Flor de Maria Chahua), seeking her help. They explain that Juan has been hearing voices for the last three nights after stealing a silver necklace from a gypsy wagon. They tried to return the necklace, but the gypsy refused to take it back.

Shaun San Dena asks them to bring Juan inside her house, where she prepares a séance in an attempt to lift the curse. During the ritual, an unseen evil force breaks into the room and attacks them. Juan becomes frightened and runs towards the interior balcony, where he is pushed by an unseen force, sending him over the railing to the lower level.

The ground shakes violently and begins to crack, revealing an underworld engulfed in flames. A demonic hand reaches out from below, dragging Juan down to Hell as young Shaun San Dena watches in horror. Feeling powerless, Shaun vows that one day she will confront this demon again.

In present-day, Wilshire Pacific Bank loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is aiming for a vacant assistant manager position. She approaches her boss, bank manager Jim Jacks (David Paymer), to ask if he has made any decisions regarding the position. Jacks casually tells her that he is still deciding between her and her co-worker Stu Rubin (Reggie Lee).

Christine appears surprised and expresses disbelief that her boss would even consider Stu, who is the new guy. Jacks explains that even though Stu is new, the bank likes his aggressive character. He elaborates that Stu is someone who isn’t afraid to make tough decisions.

During her lunch break, Christine visits her boyfriend Professor Clayton Dalton (Justin Long) at his office in the psychology department to bring him food and share lunch together. She also gives Clayton a 1979 Standing Liberty coin she found at the bank to add to his quirky coin collection.

As she is leaving, she overhears a telephone conversation between Clay and his mother. His mother disapproves of Christine for being a farm girl, and tries to convince him to meet a woman she believes would be more suitable for him — someone who could help him socially and advance his career.

Later that afternoon, Christine encounters Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver), who is seeking an extension on her mortgage because the bank has begun repossessing her property. Ganush implores Christine to help her, explaining that the property has been her home for 30 years and that she has made every payment on time until an illness caused her to lose one of her eyes. She hopes to receive the money soon but just needs more time. Despite Christine informing Ganush that the manager is not going to extend her any more credit, Mrs. Ganush pleads with Christine to at least give it a try.

When Christine brings the request to Jacks, he informs her that the bank has already granted two extensions. He explains that in this type of foreclosure, the bank will seize the trapped equity and collect a significant amount in fees. Jacks mentions that this is a tough decision and allows Christine to make the final call. Realizing that if she fails to make a difficult decision, Stu will likely secure the assistant manager position, Christine denies Ganush’s request for a third extension.

Ganush drops to her knees and starts begging Christine for help, grabbing Christine’s skirt and repeatedly kissing it. Frightened and frustrated, Christine yells for security. The security guards arrive and escort Ganush out, but before she leaves, she accuses Christine of shaming her and attempts to attack her.

That evening in the parking lot, Christine is ambushed by Mrs. Ganush, who has been hiding in Christine’s car. After a violent and lengthy struggle, Mrs. Ganush rips a button from Christine’s coat and chants an incantation in a foreign language as she places an ancient curse on it. She then gives the button back to Christine, warning that soon Christine will come begging to her.

Christine loses consciousness for a moment. When she wakes up, she finds herself alone in the parking lot next to her damaged car. She arrives just after the police officers have come to investigate and take her statement. As they walk to Clay’s car, they pass a spiritual advisor’s shop, and Christine suddenly hears a high-pitched noise that sends shivers down her spine. Feeling unnerved, she insists that she wants to have her fortune read.

Inside the shop, they meet seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao), who informs them that his service fee is $60. Skeptical, Clay believes Rham is a scam and attempts to leave, but Christine is determined to get her fortune read, even without Clay. As a result, Clay ends up paying the fee for her. During the fortune reading, Rham is startled by a terrifying vision and appears extremely nervous. He concludes the reading, mentioning that it’s late and he’s too tired to continue, offering to refund the money. Sensing Rham’s abrupt change in behavior, Christine persists and asks if he saw something. Rham reveals that a dark spirit has come upon her, suggesting that someone may have cursed her.

Christine begins experiencing a series of strange and inexplicable occurrences, including creaking sounds from the ceiling, rattling doors, metallic noises, gusts of wind, flickering lights, and a shadowy figure that attacks her before mysteriously vanishing. She also suffers from nightmarish dreams, hallucinations, and an episode where blood spills from her mouth and nose.

Christine remembers Ganush’s words and decides to visit her to seek forgiveness. To her shock, Christine soon learns that Sylvia Ganush is already dead. Sylvia’s granddaughter Ilenka (Bojana Novakovic) recognizes Christine from her grandmother’s stories before she died and tells Christine that she deserves whatever is coming to her.

Returning to the spiritual advisor’s shop, Christine hopes that Rham Jas can help her. Rham believes Christine is plagued by the Lamia, the Black Goat summoned by gypsies for their darkest deeds. He explains that for the first three days, the Lamia appears as a malicious spirit that torments its victim. After that, it reveals itself as a taker of souls and comes for the owner of the accursed object. Rham advises that Christine could attempt to appease the spirit by sacrificing a small creature.

The Lamia draws inspiration from from Greek mythology, where she is depicted as a once-beautiful queen of Libya who became a child-eating monster. According to the myths, Lamia had an affair with Zeus, which incited the jealousy of his wife, Hera. In retaliation, Hera either killed or caused Lamia to kill her children, driving Lamia into madness. Overcome by grief, she began to abduct and devour the children of others as revenge. The myth of Lamia likely evolved from earlier Near Eastern legends, possibly influenced by figures like Lamashtu, a demon from Mesopotamian lore known for similar traits of child-stealing and malevolence. In later interpretations, Lamia also took on characteristics of a seductive spirit or vampire, preying on men and children alike.

But the animal sacrifice doesn’t seem to work; Christine continues to experience hallucinations. She returns to Rham, accusing him of being a fraud. Rham explains that the Lamia is a powerful entity and suggests that they must speak directly to this dark spirit. He then introduces Christine to Shaun San Dena (Adriana Barraza), an experienced medium who has encountered the Lamia before. Shaun San Dena believes this is her chance to redeem herself and destroy the Lamia.

Directed by American filmmaker Sam Raimi, who co-wrote the original screenplay with Ivan Raimi, Drag Me to Hell is an iconic supernatural horror film. It features a playful narrative filled with unexpected twists and visceral jump scares that enhance the overall experience.

You can’t be told how entertaining this film is; you have to see it for yourself! This must be the most amusing horror film I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I love the fight scene in the car, and ooh, the goat’s face!

DRAG ME TO HELL premiered at South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) on 15 March 2009. The film later screened at Festival de Cannes on 20 May. It was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 27 May and in the United States on 29 May.

The 4K UHD Blu-ray of “DRAG ME TO HELL” was released on 29 October 2024 by Scream Factory. This edition includes three discs, with the first disc featuring both the unrated and theatrical versions of the film in 2160p Ultra High-Definition HDR Widescreen (2.40:1) and English DTS-HD Master Audio in 5.1 and 2.0 formats. It boasts a new 4K scan from the original digital intermediate film negative, approved by Sam Raimi and editor Bob Murawski, and is presented in Dolby Vision.

The second disc contains the unrated version with a similar new 4K scan and features a two-hour behind-the-scenes documentary titled “Pardon My Curse: Making Drag Me To Hell,” which includes interviews with key contributors such as co-writer Ivan Raimi and actors Alison Lohman and Lorna Raver.

The third disc presents the theatrical version, also scanned in 4K, along with several bonus features including interviews with actress Alison Lohman (“To Hell And Back”), actress Lorna Raver (“Curses”), and composer Christopher Young (“Hitting All The Right Notes”). Additionally, it includes production video diaries, vintage interviews, the theatrical trailer, TV spots, and an image gallery.