Sam Raimi has a specific vibe. You know it when you see it. It’s that chaotic, "Spiderman-meets-Evil-Dead" energy that manages to be terrifying and hilarious at the same time. When people look back at his 2009 supernatural hit, they usually talk about the "button" or that gross-out scene in the shed. But honestly? The real magic is in the drag me to hell cast list. It’s a group of actors who completely understood the assignment, which was basically: "Act like you're in a Looney Tunes cartoon, but make it feel like your soul is literally melting."
It’s been over fifteen years. Yet, the performances haven't aged a day. Usually, horror movies from the late 2000s feel a bit dated or "of their time," but this one stays fresh because the casting was so deliberate.
The Relatable Ambition of Alison Lohman
Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown. She’s the heart of the movie. At the time, Lohman was known for more "serious" or ethereal roles like Big Fish or White Oleander. Putting her in a Raimi flick was a genius move. She has this wide-eyed, innocent look that makes you want to root for her, even when she’s doing some pretty questionable stuff to keep her job at the bank.
Christine isn't a typical "final girl." She’s ambitious. She wants that assistant manager position. Most horror protagonists are just trying to survive a weekend; Christine is trying to survive a performance review. Lohman brings a layer of desperate, mid-western politeness to the role that makes the horror feel grounded. When she's screaming in her car, it's not just fear. It's the frustration of a woman who did everything right and still got cursed by an old lady.
Interestingly, Lohman almost didn't get the part. Ellen Page was originally attached to the project but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Imagine how different the movie would have been! Page has a sharper, more cynical energy. Lohman’s version of Christine feels softer, which makes her eventual descent into madness—and that graveyard scene—so much more jarring. She did most of her own stunts, too. That’s her actually getting pelted with various liquids and dirt. Talk about commitment to the craft.
Lorna Raver and the Lamia’s Curse
If you want to talk about the drag me to hell cast list, you have to talk about Lorna Raver. She played Mrs. Ganush. Before this movie, Raver was a veteran stage actress and had done plenty of TV work, but this role turned her into a horror icon. She didn't play Ganush as a monster. She played her as a humiliated, desperate woman who happened to have access to ancient, dark magic.
The scene in the bank is a masterclass in tension. It starts with a simple request for a loan extension. Raver uses her eyes—one of which was clouded with a milky contact lens—to convey a mix of vulnerability and simmering rage. When she falls to her knees and begs, you actually feel bad for her. Then, seconds later, she’s hacking up phlegm and attacking Christine in a parking garage.
Raver’s performance is physical. It’s gross. It’s loud. But it’s never "fake." Even under layers of prosthetic makeup, she maintains a terrifying screen presence. She’s the reason people still think twice before denying a favor to a stranger. It’s the kind of performance that sticks in your lizard brain.
Justin Long: The Skeptic We Need
Then there’s Clay, played by Justin Long. In the late 2000s, Long was everywhere. He was the "Mac" in the Apple commercials and the go-to guy for charming, slightly neurotic boyfriends. In Drag Me to Hell, he plays the supportive boyfriend who happens to be a professor of psychology. This is a classic horror trope—the skeptic—but Long makes it work because he’s so likable.
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He’s the anchor. Without Clay, Christine would just be a person losing her mind in a vacuum. Long plays the role with a genuine warmth. You can tell Clay loves Christine, which makes the ending of the movie—the train station, the envelope, the look on his face—absolutely devastating. It’s one of the few horror movies where the "supportive partner" doesn't feel like a cardboard cutout.
The Supporting Players Who Rounded Out the Hellscape
The rest of the drag me to hell cast list is filled with "hey, I know that guy" actors who bring a lot of texture to the world.
- Dileep Rao as Rham Jas: Rao is great. He plays the psychic who tries to help Christine. He brings a sense of weary professionalism to the supernatural. He’s not a "wizard"; he’s a guy with a shop who knows a lot about demons. Rao went on to be in Avatar and Inception right after this, which shows you the level of talent Raimi was pulling in.
- David Paymer as Jim Jacks: Paymer plays Christine’s boss. He’s the embodiment of corporate indifference. He isn't "evil," but his pressure on Christine is what triggers the whole curse. Paymer is a character actor legend, and he plays the "middle management" role to perfection.
- Adriana Barraza as Shaun San Dena: She brings a heavy weight of gravitas to the seance scene. Barraza was an Oscar nominee (for Babel), and her presence gives the movie’s third act a lot of legitimacy. When she’s battling the Lamia, you believe the stakes are real.
- Reggie Lee as Stu Rubin: Every office has a Stu. He’s the backstabbing co-worker who wants your job. Lee plays him with just the right amount of sliminess. You hate him, but you recognize him.
Why the Casting Worked So Well
Most horror movies fail because the characters feel like "kills" waiting to happen. In Drag Me to Hell, the characters feel like people. Christine’s struggle with her weight (the "farm girl" backstory) and her desire to fit into Clay’s wealthy family adds layers of social anxiety to the supernatural dread.
Raimi used the cast to balance the "Splatstick" (splatter + screwball) tone. You need actors who can play the absurdity straight. When a goat starts talking in the middle of a seance, the actors have to react with genuine terror, not a wink to the camera. If they don't buy it, we don't buy it.
The chemistry between Lohman and Long is also underrated. They feel like a real couple. They have mundane conversations about dinner and parents. This makes the intrusion of the Lamia feel even more violating. It’s not just a monster attacking a person; it’s a curse destroying a life that someone worked really hard to build.
Real-World Impact and Legacy
The movie was a critical darling. It holds a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and much of that is attributed to the performances. Critics at the time, like Roger Ebert, praised the film for its "old-school" feel. It didn't rely on CGI jump scares alone; it relied on the faces of the actors.
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Lorna Raver’s Mrs. Ganush has become a staple of Halloween costumes and horror memes. Even though she’s the "villain," there’s a cult following that sees her as a vengeful folk hero. That’s the power of a good cast list—it creates characters that outlive the runtime of the movie.
Production Secrets of the Cast
Did you know that the "gumming" scene in the car—where Ganush tries to bite Christine without her dentures—was actually choreographed like a fight scene? Raver and Lohman spent a lot of time working out the movements to ensure it was both scary and physically possible.
Also, Sam Raimi’s brother, Ted Raimi, has a small cameo as a doctor. It wouldn't be a Sam Raimi movie without Ted showing up somewhere! These little details show the family-style atmosphere on set, which usually results in better performances because the actors feel safe enough to take big, weird risks.
Navigating the Career Paths Post-Hell
After the film, the cast went in very different directions. Alison Lohman largely stepped away from big-budget acting shortly after to focus on her family and teaching. This gives her performance in Drag Me to Hell a "time capsule" quality. It was one of her last major leading roles, and she went out on a massive high note.
Justin Long continued to be a mainstay in both indie films and horror, eventually starring in Barbarian (2022), which many fans consider a spiritual successor to the "Raimi-style" of horror. Dileep Rao became a part of two of the biggest franchises in history. Lorna Raver continued her prolific work in theater and voice acting.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re a fan of the movie or just getting into horror, there are a few things you should actually do to appreciate the drag me to hell cast list even more:
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- Watch the "Behind the Scenes" Featurettes: Specifically look for the makeup tests with Lorna Raver. Seeing how much of her performance was her own facial expressions versus the prosthetics is eye-opening.
- Compare to Evil Dead II: Watch Evil Dead II and then Drag Me to Hell back-to-back. Look at how Sam Raimi uses his actors as physical props. Notice the similarities between Bruce Campbell’s "Ash" and Lohman’s "Christine."
- Check out Justin Long’s newer horror work: If you liked his "skeptic" vibe, watch Barbarian. It shows how he’s evolved from the nice-guy boyfriend to a much more complex (and often detestable) character.
- Re-watch the Bank Scene: Pay close attention to the sound design and the micro-expressions of David Paymer. The way he avoids eye contact with Mrs. Ganush says more about corporate greed than any monologue ever could.
The movie is a reminder that horror is only as good as the people screaming on screen. Without this specific cast, Drag Me to Hell might have been just another forgettable curse movie. Instead, it’s a classic that people are still dissecting over a decade later. It's gross, it's loud, and thanks to the actors, it's got a whole lot of soul.