I See Dead People…With Mortgages

By: DIANA GOLOBAY
May 4, 2009 5:01 PM CST

Yes, it’s come to that: a horror film about mortgage lending.

Okay, so maybe the fright, suspense and gore isn’t directly related to mortgages, but the premise of director Sam Raimi’s film, Drag Me to Hell, appears to center around a young, aspiring loan officer who, for the sake of prudential lending standards, must refuse to grant a third extension on the mortgage payment of a frail, elderly borrower, despite her pleas for mercy.

And who would’ve thought that a director with so many other outstanding horror creds, such as Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Darkman and The Gift, could find a way to top himself yet again?

But he does.

In Drag Me to Hell, the loan officer’s moral turmoil on the decision is evident: “We would have to throw her out of her house,” says the character, played by Alison Lohman, to her boss at one point early in the movie’s trailer.

Her tough decision — which the viewer is lead to believe will mean the definite promotion to assistant manager and a sweet corner office with windows — could not, would not possibly result in her downfall…

Or will it?

That’s where the ghosts and ghouls come in; The frail, pitiful borrower turns out to be some sort of witch or demon (and maybe they all are) who casts a curse to torment the loan officer, whom the viewer knows is doomed for eternal damnation, courtesy of the flick’s title.

Or is she?

The film is sure to have loan officers quaking in their theater chairs asking themselves that age old question: “Oh why didn’t I grant that third extension today? WHY!?!?”

Set to hit box offices May 27, the film promises plenty of horror and suspense… although we can think of little more horrifying than the harsh realities of the housing debacle making its way into mainstream Hollywood.

Jacob Gaffney contributed to this report.