UPDATE: Alison Lohman (White Oleander, Things We Lost in the Fire, Beowulf) has signed on to star in Drag Me to Hell. See the end of this post for more.

Drag Me to Hell, the new horror movie from Sam Raimi, has to find another actress to drag with it, as Ellen Page has dropped out.

The Oscar nominee's withdrawal is bad news for the film, which marks Raimi's return to directing the horror genre after seven-plus years in Spiderman country. Personally, I'd prefer that he return to the Xena genre. Yes, Xena gets a whole genre — any objections?

The official explanation for Page's withdrawal is that she had a scheduling conflict. Besides Drag, Page is cast in Drew Barrymore's roller derby comedy, Whip It! and Peacock, a thriller starring Cillian Murphy. Since most studios are trying to get films produced before a possible Screen Actors Guild strike on June 30, Page's schedule no doubt is packed.

Whatever the reason, I'm kind of disappointed. I'm not a big horror fan, but I do appreciate Raimi's cult classic, Evil Dead, and I was looking forward to seeing what magic would come from a Raimi-Page match-up. The good news, though, is that we don't have to wait long to see Ellen-the-younger on the big screen again. Smart People, with Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church, opens April 11.

Here's the Smart People trailer:

UPDATE: Page's replacement in Drag Me to Hell is Alison Lohman, probably best known for White Oleander and Beowulf. Here are a couple of photos of Lohman:

Looks like Raimi had a certain "type" in mind, doesn't it?

Drag Me to Hell will start production on March 31, just two weeks later than planned. The show must go on!