Drag Me to Hell is a horror film starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver and David Paymer. Directed by Sam Raimi.
Though he is best known now as the director behind the Spider Man franchise, fans of Sam Raimi know he got his start with the Evil Dead Trilogy (The Evil Dead 1 and 2, plus Army of Darkness). The trilogy, which deservedly developed a cult following, were an amazing mix of seat jumping scares, over the top gore and laugh out loud funny scenes (they can best be described as, believe it or not, what you might get if you crossed The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Three Stooges!)
Oral Fixation is Jake Cashill's feature debut as a writer/director. His writing accolades include being named the Grand Prize Winner in American Zoetropes inuagural Screenplay Contest, for his Irish epic, The Fergus Cycle - which is currently in production. His other writing and directing credits include several short films as well as cowriting a script for Showtime with actor/writer Steve Kampman.
Indiefilmchat: Tell us a little about your background and how you came to make Oral Fixation.
Jake Cashill: I had been making some modest advances as a screenwriter, getting a handful of scripts optioned and doing a few writer-for-hire gigs, but nothing was getting made, so I wrote Oral Fixation with the intent to raise money for it and direct it myself. The idea for the story came during the filming of a short film I made years ago; one of the producers was recounting how her dentist had to change his phone number and move because a female patient was dropping by the office a lot and calling him at home, generally stalking him. So I thought, Hey that's a real oral fixation, yuk, yuk. And the movie was born. Of course I extrapolated a great deal on the core story, but the essence remained. Then, of course, it took several years to raise the money. But that's a whole other story.
First off let me say that, before being accused of being sexist, there are many good and bad chick flicks, just as there are in any genre. However, like most genre, there many rules and requirements that the standard chick flick must follow.
Though many more rules might apply, my Top 10 are as follows:
1. Matthew McConaughey/Dermott Mulroney Rule. If the chick flick is to be considered primarily a comedy, first consideration for the lead male role must be given to McConaughey; if the movie has a more dramatic edge, find Mulroney. If neither is available, find either A) any remotely handsome actor with a British accent or B) Ryan Reynolds. Primary examples: too numerous to mention.
Because Roman Polanski has found himself, for better or worse, in the news again,I think it is fitting to offer a list of the what I see as the 5 best films by a truly great director.
Chinatown (1974)
"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't."
This menacing line, uttered by the main villain, beautifully summarizes Polanski’s best film, one that is perhaps the greatest film noir ever made. It marked Polanski’s return to Hollywood 5 years after the horrific murder of his wife Sharon Tate. Perhaps fittingly, few films are as bleak and cynical regarding the level of corruption, deception and flat out evil humanity can stoop to when motivated by greed and power. Nicholson, in one of his greatest performances, is a private eye who first searches for a missing husband and eventually finds himself involved in an enormous water scandal in the Los Angeles of the 30s. He genuinely tries to help good triumph over evil, only to find his previous assumptions inaccurate and his efforts ultimate futile. A tragic masterpiece from a man who has seen more than his share of tragedy.
Since Halloween is fast approaching and Hollywood (with remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, It’s Alive, Hellraiser and Don’t Look Now either on the way or in production) seems determined to remake every half decent horror film of the past 30 years, I thought this might be a good time to present what I consider the 5 best-and 5 worst-horror remakes. One suggestion: in all 10 cases, at least consider watching the original classics (as all 10 are good and at least worthy of being considered for remakes in the first place).
The 5 Best
The Thing (John Carpenter-1982)
I know I’ve written about The Thing before, but not only is it an improvement over the terrific original, but is arguably the best sci-fi horror film ever made. Carpenter’s brilliant move was changing the monster from a giant, but identifiable figure into a shape shifting monster that can take the form of any living thing, be it a dog or one of the doomed scientists at the Antarctic base. The horrific and gruesome special effects are perhaps one of the best examples of where gore actually helps a film, as it enhances the growing sense of paranoia and isolation that grows during the film. A true horror masterpiece.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Phillip Kaufman-1977)
The original 50s version by Don Siegel is still very well made and frightening, yet this remake about an invading force of alien pods that gradually replace your friends and neighbors, surpasses it. The truly eerie score, coupled with such startling scenes as a dog with a human face, work together to create a mounting sense of dread and paranoia. Most notably, however, is the final shot. I will not ruin it, but it is still one of the most genuinely terrifying, and downbeat, shots I have ever seen.
With Halloween approaching, we thought it would be fun to see what you all thought were your ten most "memorable" death scenes in movies. Trent, our intrepid critic, has already written his list. What about yours? I want to use "memorable" as the defining guideline here. If memorable means gruesome and bloody for you, so be it. Sometimes, "memorable" could mean surprising, or heartbreaking, or, as you'll see from my films, spectacular.
I found the list of possible candidates quite long once I got the cobwebs out of my brain. It could change tomorrow, but without further a do, below is my current Top Ten Death Scenes, in no special order.
THE OMEN 2: Death beneath the ice. As an avid outdoor ice skater, I will never forget the first time I saw this rather mediocre sequel. The frantic drowning of one of the characters beneath some very clear ice as his companion struggles to break through and save him still gives me the willies. For good measure he even pops up once, only to disappear under the ice again for good.
CASINO ROYALE: Keeping with the drowning theme, the death of Vera Lynn in the submerged elevator of the sinking house in as Bond does all he can to try and save her has also stayed with me. I think it's the fact that we like this character so much (and she's beautiful to boot), and Bond loves her so much, that makes this one especially disturbing.
JAWS: The opening sequence of the skinny dipping teenage girl who gets torn to shreds by the great white shark still stands as one of the most horrific deaths of modern cinema. We never see the shark, which only makes the scene even more disturbing. The ringing bell on the buoy and the girl's bloodcurdling screams as she's chopped up into a blue plate special are just unforgettable.
Some of the most memorable moments in film history are death scenes, perhaps because they can be extremely versatile in drawing extreme emotions, be it fright, disgust, sadness, even laughter. All the death scenes listed below are memorable because they make a profound impact on the viewer.
My Top 10, sorted by year:
Beauty kills the beast-King Kong (Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack-1933)
The death of Kong is one of the most magnificent, as well as bitterly sad, scenes ever. Dragged from his home and put on display, his rampage through New York seems justified. He is soon brought down in his ill-fated attempt to claim and protect the one human he cares for. Call me silly, but seeing him gradually weaken under the hail of bullets from the plans, then make his famous plunge from the top of the Empire State Building, always makes me want to cry.
In an earlier essay I wrote, I mentioned that while I greatly admire Clint Eastwood as a filmmaker, I feel that many of his “message” movies, in particular Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, are a bit overrated, as they tend to become a bit too self-important and “preachy.” However, his less self important work, such as Play Misty For Me, High Planes Drifter and Any Which Way But Loose, holds up quite well.
Though Gran Torino is, in some ways, a “message” movie, it fortunately falls into the ladder category for me, as it works as entertaining, though quite moving at times, comedy drama, with moments of action weaved in.
August is usually a quiet month in the film business but this year some Hollywood studios have their long knives out. They are filing aggressive law suits against Red Box and other rental kiosk companies, ostensibly to prevent them from eroding what’s left of their sell thru revenue and hurting their traditional rental customers like Blockbuster, etc. In turn, Red Box has filed their own claims against Warner Brothers. The Warner suit is the third such legal action taken by Red Box in the last year, with earlier actions against 20th Century Fox and Universal still pending. Clearly the $1.00 per rental fee charged by Red Box has the studios nervous. At the same time, Red Box has a great business model that they don’t want the studios to undermine.
However, I suspect that all this focus on sell thru is a bit of a bait and switch on the part of the studios. They are nothing if not smart, and they see as well as anyone that the future of home entertainment profits, especially for new releases, is going to be earned by video on demand.
Oral Fixation Label: Lifesize Entertainment
Genre: Horror
Synopsis:Rachel Marks is obsessed with her dentist. When he refuses to keep treating her, her fragile psyche cracks and she sets out to make herself part of his life by any means neccessary.
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Drag Me to Hell is a horror film starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver and David Paymer. Directed by Sam Raimi. 
Oral Fixation is Jake Cashill's feature debut as a writer/director. His writing accolades include being named the Grand Prize Winner in American Zoetropes inuagural Screenplay Contest, for his Irish epic, The Fergus Cycle - which is currently in production. His other writing and directing credits include several short films as well as cowriting a script for Showtime with actor/writer Steve Kampman.
First off let me say that, before being accused of being sexist, there are many good and bad chick flicks, just as there are in any genre. However, like most genre, there many rules and requirements that the standard chick flick must follow.
Because Roman Polanski has found himself, for better or worse, in the news again,I think it is fitting to offer a list of the what I see as the 5 best films by a truly great director. 
Since Halloween is fast approaching and Hollywood (with remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, It’s Alive, Hellraiser and Don’t Look Now either on the way or in production) seems determined to remake every half decent horror film of the past 30 years, I thought this might be a good time to present what I consider the 5 best-and 5 worst-horror remakes. One suggestion: in all 10 cases, at least consider watching the original classics (as all 10 are good and at least worthy of being considered for remakes in the first place). 
In an earlier essay I wrote, I mentioned that while I greatly admire Clint Eastwood as a filmmaker, I feel that many of his “message” movies, in particular Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, are a bit overrated, as they tend to become a bit too self-important and “preachy.” However, his less self important work, such as Play Misty For Me, High Planes Drifter and Any Which Way But Loose, holds up quite well. 
Oral Fixation
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Watch the first teaser for Summit's third installment in the teenage vampire series.