Remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, sequels and prequels dominate modern Hollywood.  America’s mainstream film culture is in such dire need of ideas that it was even recently reported that Universal will be adapting the “Where’s Waldo” children’s book series for the big screen.  Talk about desperate.

Director, Sam Raimi, celebrated titan of horror, even dabbled in that world helming the mega-popular “Spider-Man” trilogy.  I have no doubts that he enjoyed the paydays but by “Spider-Man 3″ it seemed that the man behind the hallowed “Evil Dead” trilogy was growing tired of the mainstream.  And with the tired tropes of the ailing horror sector taking their toll it only seemed natural that Raimi return to his first love–the genre with which he shared reciprocal prosperity and fruitful creativity.

As soon as the lights dimmed and the vintage, 1980s Universal logo appeared on screen, it was clear what kind of experience “Drag Me to Hell” would be.  From the dramatically oversized title to the charmingly cheesy practical effects, Raimi’s highly anticipated return to delightfully schlocky shrieks and scares is a campy, hilariously frightening good time.

Alison Lohman (“Big Fish,” “Beowulf”) plays Christine Brown, a young, pleasant, and determined loan officer at a small bank branch hoping to win her boss’s praise and a promotion to Assistant Manager.  But the new guy, Stu Rubin (Reggie Lee), is a brownnosing prick of sorts and will do anything to get ahead including lying, cheating, and stealing.  The boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), wants Christine to be more assertive.  You see, she’s got a kind heart and prefers a more collaborative approach in dealing with her clients to the type of hard-lined, we’ll repo your house if you don’t pay up, style that the boss wants.

Determined to beat out the weaselly Stu for the promotion, Christine uneasily defies her conscience and denies a desperate, slimy old gypsy woman (Lorna Raver) a third extension on her mortgage.  Bad idea.  The woman dies before Christine can apologize and work out a payment plan, and even worse, turns out to be some sort of terribly powerful, demonic entity capable of dragging the accursed down to Hell to suffer for eternity.

The rest of the movie follows Christine’s frantic attempts to either evade or appease the devilish soul of the gruesome and grotesquely relentless soul of the old woman.

This movie plays like a riotous family gathering–a homecoming for Raimi, the prodigal son who’s returned after a shamefully lavish stint in the world of bloated, underwhelming, mainstream cinema. Happily keeping us entertained with plenty of mouthfuls of all manner of disgusting-ness and a wonderfully campy, demon-possessed, talking goat, Raimi is clearly having a blast.

“Drag Me to Hell” is essentially the newest entry into the “Evil Dead” franchise only with higher production values and improved characterization.

Every plot twist is telegraphed weeks in advance and the “surprise” ending can be seen coming from a mile away, but that’s exactly what makes this little film a delight.  It makes no claims of sophistication, and only asks that we let go for 99 minutes and have a little fun.