Director Sam Raimi’s nine-year hiatus from horror did nothing to dull his senses for terrifying audiences - his storytelling skills are sharper now.

“Drag Me to Hell” is not a throwback to Raimi’s gory, glory days of “The Evil Dead,” but picks up where Raimi left off with 2000’s “The Gift,” focusing more on the terror posed by supernatural forces. In this case, a living hell experienced by young bank loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) as a consequence of turning down a mortgage extension for an old, disfigured gypsy (Lorna Raver).