Anyone who has seen the 2009 supernatural horror film Drag Me to Hell will recall that despite Christine's (played by Alison Lohman) best efforts to escape her terrifying fate, she still ended up dragged to the pit of fire—with her boyfriend Clay (Justin Long) present to witness the entire deeply disturbing event. That, of course, begs the question of how Clay has fared since (or if Christine managed to breakout from hell), and it's been nearly 14 years without a sequel to answer it. But Sam Raimi, the filmmaker behind the critically acclaimed flick, recently revealed that the potential sequel to the 2009 movie is in its earliest stage of development.
While promoting the release of the sci-fi film 65 starring Adam Driver, Raimi—who co-produces the film—participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread along with 65 directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. And when asked whether there are plans for another Drag Me to Hell-related story, the director answered: "The team at Ghost House Pictures: Romel Adam and Jose Canas, are trying to come up with a story that would work, and I'm anxious to hear if they do!"
Raimi's answer alone raises the hope that there is a possible second Drag Me to Hell film, which the director worked on after his stint on the three Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man movies, with the third installment—released in 2007—failing to meet the expectations of the previous outings. In 2009, however, Raimi once again proved that he's a director to watch out for, with Drag Me to Hell performing favorably well at the box office with a positive critical reception.
Drag Me to Hell follows a bank loan officer, Christine, who works in a Los Angeles bank and lives a heavenly life with her boyfriend, Clay. But her lovely, upbeat life soon takes a turn for the worse when she denied the elderly woman's request to extend her mortgage in order to appease her boss into giving her the promotion she dreams of. In return, the old woman curses Christine with "Lamia," endangering her soul with eternity in hell—and the only thing she can do to escape her brutal fate is do every impossible thing, including killing her poor, innocent cat. And while the scene causes a discussion about whether Christine deserved to be burned in hell for all eternity—in her defense—she had to deal with probably the most ferocious punishment a person can ever receive. So, justifiably, Christine is in all sorts of downward spiral. After the torturous encounter, Christine was able to break the curse—or so she thought. The medium she visited to lift the curse ended up being a failure, with Clay watching her girlfriend being pulled onto the tracks, little by little dragging her to hell.
It wasn't the first time Raimi impressed viewers with a horror film; his 1981 film, The Evil Dead, received the same praise from audiences and critics alike. It ended up spawning sequels, including Evil Dead II in 1987 and Army of Darkness in 1992. And with the possible Drag Me to Hell sequel, it will be another addition to the director's already extensive body of work. But while it's still in its earliest stage of development, you can watch the 2009 film's trailer below—and revisit Christine's cruel destiny.