McClatchy-Tribune

Alison Lohman, as cursed Christine Brown (center), participates in a seance that goes awry in "Drag Me to Hell."

Director Sam Raimi's "Spiderman" trilogy set a high bar for big-budget movies derived from comic books. Now, Raimi has returned to the kind of movie that launched his career: the horror movie.

"Drag Me to Hell" is a crisp occult thriller that showcases Raimi's considerable filmmaking skills as well as his macabre sense of humor. Despite some yucky special effects, there's a playfulness afoot as well as keen sense of irony.

Raimi is an avowed admirer of Alfred Hitchcock, and he pays tribute to the way his hero contrasted suspense and an impending sense of horror with a sunny California background. Think "The Birds."

Also, think of this movie as "The Revenge of the Over-Mortgaged."

Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown, a young and ambitious bank loan officer. Christine's on the short list for the branch's assistant manager job. Her competitor is a slimy toady played by Reggie Lee.

Alison is unfortunate enough to be available when Mrs. Ganush comes pleading to the bank. Played by Lorna Raver, Mrs. Ganush is about to lose her house because she can't pay her mortgage. She's an unpleasant crone who literally begs for an extension. Christine, who wants to prove she can play hardball, turns her down.

After a parking lot throwdown, Christine vanquishes the old lady who still gets the last laugh. She puts a curse on the young banker: Christine will be tormented for three days by a demon named the Lamia who will then drag her soul to hell.

Of course, this kind of creepy stew has to have some basic ingredients. Justin Long plays Christine's concerned boyfriend who doesn't exactly buy into whole demon-from-hell scenario. Then there's the occult expert, this time a fortune teller played by Dileep Rao. Of course, there have to be some antidotes to the curse that Christine is forced to try. And a seance gone wrong is always a pleasure in this kind of yarn.

Raimi and co-writer and brother Ivan blend a B-movie approach with top-shelf production values. They also bring an Eastern European folktale sensibility to the story.

Sam Raimi exercises considerable restraint in what he shows. There are some gross-out moments involving false teeth, bugs and other unappetizing items, but Raimi doesn't do the full Monty with the demon. He suggests it with brief visual flashes and sound. Robert Wise's "The Haunting" must have been an influence along with Hitchcock.

The actors are uniformly solid. Lohman's desperate victim is sympathetic even though she's pressured to turn down the pivotal loan. Long is a believable good guy. Raver is the bag lady from hell. And Rao provides the appropriate gravity to the occultist who tries to save Christine.

"Drag Me to Hell" is horror escapism that doesn't take itself too seriously. There are plenty of chills without the splatter factor.