Hellmouth (2014)
Starring Stephen McHattie, Siobhan Murphy, Boyd Banks
Directed by John Geddes
I’ve always felt that a film, if lacking in one particular area, could be saved by rising above mediocrity in another. Whether it be a lame-duck group of characters, the subject matter could ascend the show to a respectable height. A good constitution can lift a slow storyline as well, but there is one piece of the cinematic puzzle that’s always drawn me in and can take a stagnant presentation and breathe life into it, and that’s the visuals.
As I sat down to watch director John Geddes’s unworldly feature Hellmouth, I was instantly pulled towards a look that can simply be defined as optically sensational. What is shown before the eyes is as good looking as anything you’ll see in a very long time on-screen, and that reason is why I’m in love with this film.
It stars grizzled thespian Stephen McHattie as Charlie Baker, a gravekeeper who is clearly at the end of his time, merely passing the days until he can move to sunny and sandy Florida. He has a terminal brain condition and waits in sullen silence until his retirement, when he can live out the remainder of his existence in the solar goodness that is the Upper Keys of the Sunshine State. An instant roadblock comes into play as his employer offers Charlie a six-month extension of his employment for a generous upping of his pension. Sadly, the offer was never there for Charlie to refuse, as his boss’ pressure was too great to resist. The new position that the haggard caretaker is attending? Well, he’ll be the new man in charge of a much-larger cemetery miles away that secretly hides the portal to Hell.
When Charlie makes the trip towards his unfamiliar new surroundings, he’s introduced to the sexiest hitchhiker he’s ever seen: the gorgeous Faye (Siobhan Murphy), a vision in white who aids him in his progression, and the two fall in love over a very short span of time. Their connection will face the definitive test of time as the gateway to Hell readies its front doors to be opened, swallowing everything and everyone who resides on the top-side of life.
Armed with a key to a chest that will keep the demons at bay (for a short time, unfortunately), Charlie embarks on a renewed style of life in his new post, never questioning why the last keeper of the vocation went AWOL with literally no explanation. His pains have ceased, he’s no longer relying on eyeglasses to correct his vision, and even the leaded features that have crossed his mug over time have smoothed out – could this be the resurrection of a soul once thought to be lost, or is evil simply biding its time, giving that false sense of security until it rears its ugly head?
McHattie is quite simply the best man for this role – his gruff and gloomy exterior fits perfectly into the performance, and Murphy is passable as his mysterious love interest (her looks outweigh her actions, by far). Downsides to the nearly 90-minute product would be the useless addition of a side-story involving two escaped convicts and some of the muddled track that the movie travels on from time to time, but nothing that would seriously deter a fan of the genre from wanting to punch the clock on.
As I mentioned earlier, the largest gifts that Geddes bestows upon the audience here are the mind-blowing visuals – throwing fans back to the 1950’s with a look and feel that runs head-long into a Frank Miller Sin City freight train. The first piece of the movie is solid blacks and whites, with just the slightest hints of reds protruding from the frame (Charlie’s Florida brochure is also in full-color, representing a fresh view into a dour life). After the show gets on, the bleeding of colors starts to infiltrate the landscape, but not without dulling them down, an action that reminds the audience that it’s always darkest before the dawn. Demons, smoke-enveloped ghouls, and the ferryman on the river Styx are nightmarish in appearance, although you do have to allow some CGI to have its way with you.
In the end, Hellmouth is a movie that must be viewed at least once, merely due to the gift that you’ll be presenting to your eyes, and if you happen to be one of those lucky souls that possesses a VERY LARGE-screened TV, would you do me the honor of inviting me over when this hits the DVD market?
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
