Hell Town (2015)
Starring Casey Chapman, Pleasant Gehman, Chris Pudlo
Directed by Steve Balderson and Elizabeth Spear
By utilizing equal parts of black humor, gratuitous gore, and strife among both families and high school students, directors Steve Balderson and Elizabeth Spear take the typical soap opera and spoof it until it bleeds profusely. All you have to do is ask any longtime viewer of those cheesy afternoon TV staples that have entertained housewives for decades, and they’ll swear on a stack of Harlequin romance novels that there is no substitute for some far-fetched lovin’. Now, if you plan to market said programming to the horror masses, you’d better offer a heaping dosage of crimson showering and toss in a few laughs to break up the monotony.
Unfortunately, for me, Hell Town just couldn’t fill the bill.
Served up mini-marathon style, this whodunit of sorts focuses on a serial killer in a small town who prefers to off the members of a couple of squabbling families: the Gables and the Manlys. With a multitude of pseudo-soap actors at the killer’s disposal, you’re going to need a scorecard to keep track of who’s getting offed (in some fairly entertaining ways at times). While it’s viewed as a three-part act in one entire presentation, it has the look and feel of a midseason trifecta of episodes, and as we’re watching this particular grouping, we’re informed during the opening moments that a couple of previous seasons were “lost” in an accident, merely adding to the show’s mystery… perhaps there will be more “episodes” released over time dependent upon the popularity of this bunch? While I’ve been precluded from offering any intricate details as far as potential spoilers are concerned, simply allow the following images to sink into your heads: douchey shirtless young men, air-headed young women, uptight housewives, a sadistic murderer, and plenty of blood to be shed at different intervals.
As the feature drew to a close, I couldn’t help but feel a little empty-handed: both in product and overall result of that finished product. Who knows, though? This possibly could appeal to those who enjoy a lot of soap-operatic elements and goofy humor tossed in with their intravenous drip of horrific medication, but this particular nightcrawler never was a fan of daytime TV, whether it be due to the subject matter or the fact that I technically shouldn’t be opening my casket before dark.
All in all, I’ll give a style point to the representation of a mirror-imaged drama and a kick-in for the decent kills, but otherwise I’ll be taking a shortcut to bypass this Hell Town.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
