Hell Fest

Starring: Cynthea Mercado, Stephen Conroy, Amy Forsyth, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards, Christina James, Matt Mercurio, Roby Atal
Directed by: Gregory Plotkin
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of friends attend Hell Fest, a horror theme park where the goal is to scare the attendees. They don't suspect that one person in attendance is seeking to kill people for real.

Review:

Tim: It feels like we've gotten some really solid horror movies over the last several years. The genre has definitely been on the upswing. That's why it is so surprising that Hell Fest appears to have not learned any of the lessons of what to do and not do in horror films. This feels like a throwback to those generic, forgettable horror movies we've been inundated with for years and years. You have a masked killer hunting a group of mildly good-looking teenagers, none of whom have any real personality and are forgettable to the extreme. One-by-one they are murdered. This describes Hell Fest and literally dozens of others horror movies. I was shocked how determined this film was to follow the same, well-trod horror movie path. It was like the setting itself (which was legitimately cool, more in a minute) was all it needed to differentiate itself. That shiny exterior is cool, but as you lift the hood, you realize there's almost nothing underneath. This isn't a terrible movie, but it's a film that seems stubbornly determined to tell a lightweight, unmemorable story.

I do want to highlight the great idea of setting a horror movie at a horror theme park. These things exist, and it's a brilliant setting. You tell a scary slasher story amidst a setting where everything is designed to scare you. Sure, a lot of these are jump scares, but you can't really think of a more creepy setting. I loved the idea of real murders taking place in the middle of fake scares for entertainment. You would start to question everything- what was real, what was just part of the attractions? That part of the film was really entertaining and fun to watch.

Unfortunately, it was like all the innovation and originality ended there. You have a group of six young people- three men and three women. There's two pairs of couples, plus a girl and guy who really like each other. I'm already rolling my eyes. You have the sensitive, nice guy. You have the too-good straight-and-narrow girl. You have the best friend. You have the out of control party girl. This has all been done to death, yet Hell Fest is determined to do it all again, but this time- even less effectively. Most of the kills are somewhat blase. There's a little bit of gore, but nothing especially cringe-worthy. That brings up another issue- I never felt even an inkling of fear or nervousness while watching this movie. Nothing. At no point did I feel anything. That's mostly because I had zero cares or interest in the characters, but the movie as a whole is surprisingly mild. It's also predictable, which minimizes any intensity. Compare this to other 2018 horror movies like Hereditary, A Quiet Place, or even The Nun. This isn't all that scary of a movie. Surprisingly, this didn't make me hate the film. I still felt some mild interest in seeing how the film ended, even if I didn't care at all who lived or died.

Hell Fest didn't make much money at the box office, but it was so cheap that it probably ended up in the green. I'm curious to see if they make a sequel. The antagonist had a pretty cool-looking mask, but he wasn't especially memorable other than that. I see on IMDb that he's called "The Other", which is appropriately generic. The final scene of the film was kind of cool and unexpected and it certainly sets up a sequel. Unfortunately, I'm confident this won't become the next lengthy horror franchise. It doesn't have a compelling enough antagonist.

Really, in the end, Hell Fest was fine. It's not terrible, it does just enough so you're not completely bored throughout the film. The setting adds a lot to the story. However, great horror movies are being made and this isn't in the same country as those films. We've gotten dozens and dozens of these generic horror movies and fans of the genre deserve better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Happy Death Day, Truth or Dare