1) Drag Me To Hell (2009)
Sam Raimi is most famous for directing the original Evil Dead trilogy and for turning Spider-Man into an emo douchebag, but one of his greatest releases to date sadly stands alone with no current plans for a sequel. Drag Me To Hell was written by Raimi and his brother Ivan before work begun on the Spider-Man films, but it was well worth the wait. Premiering to wide acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, Drag Me To Hell showcased Raimi at his finest, uniquely blending comedy and genuine scares in a way that only he knows how.
The story follows Alison Lohman in a star making turn as Christine Brown, a loan officer who refuses to help a gypsy woman under the direct orders of her boss. Things take a turn for the worse as Mrs. Ganush takes revenge and places a curse on Brown that will send her to hell after three days of supernatural torment. Despite the dark subject matter, Drag Me To Hell is deliriously entertaining from start to finish, pushing the audience’s buttons with demonic goats and vomiting gypsies one moment and scenes of startling terror the next. Few can pull off such a juggling act, so it’s unfortunate that Raimi doesn’t return to the horror genre as often as he should.
Drag Me To Hell was a surprise box office hit at the time of its release, making $90.8 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, and it’s since become a cult classic, so there are plenty of fans who would embrace a return to this story. The issue, of course, is that the ending of the original movie doesn’t lend itself well to a follow-up.
A potential avenue that Raimi could explore is continuing the story of Justin Long’s character as he tries to rescue his girlfriend from the depths of hell, but a more effective approach could be to take a look at the impact of another similar gypsy curse, perhaps even exploring the origins of Mrs. Ganush and her family in flashbacks. It would be tough to pull off, but with both Evil Dead and Spider-Man, Raimi proved that he’s capable of producing sequels that actually manage to surpass the originals. We have faith in you Sam!
Tell us, what do you think of our choices? Could any of these sequels actually work, or should these horror movies just be left alone? Remember to let us know in the comments section below.