The genre device of jump scares is employed in pretty much every offering these days, and seldom is it done right. Either they are not executed correctly and thus aren't effective, or they are employed so much (see the recent Haunting in Connecticut as an example) that we become desensitized not long into the movie. But Raimi manages here to strike the right balance. The result is that we jump at every noise, darting our eyes from corner to corner of the screen to check that something isn't going to suddenly jump out at the characters. The movie keeps us paranoid and genuinely afraid throughout.
In classic Raimi style, there's also an element of comedy thrown into the mix here. The Evil Dead series was as much about the laughs (in a darkly comedic sort of way) as it was about the disgusting horror visuals and noises, and that is present throughout Drag Me To Hell. It's never a full-on comedy in that it could be labeled as such, but there are moments scattered throughout that are funny in that uncomfortable, "you really shouldn't be laughing right now" kind of way, and even moments that are chuckle-worthy just because of how ridiculous they are. It's a strange mix Raimi and his co-writing brother, Ivan, have concocted here, but it works fantastically.
As well as being about demons and curses and old ladies attacking you with their jagged false teeth (a parking lot attack scene is the heart-stopping film highlight), it also pays attention to other things — true-to-life things such as aspirations of moving up the career ladder, trying not to disappoint the partner's rich, high-expectation parents, and trying to be a good person in life. The latter plays a pivotal part in the horror storyline where Christine's reluctance to turn down the old lady for her mortgage extension has her wrestling with caving in and just giving her the extension anyway. These extra dramatic elements give the movie a lot of backbone; when the horror element takes a break for a little while there are things going on that actually make you care about the characters as opposed to seeing them as disposable meat for the evil killer.
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