Hell Fire

Director - Marc Fratto (Zombies Anonymous)
Starring - J. Scott Green (Satan's Schoolgirls), Katelyn Marie Marshall (Filter), and Selene Beretta (Regretting Fish)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "4 girls.  The anti-christ.  One hell of a problem"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Sometimes a film is released and it receives a lot of hype among the horror community.  These films continue to spread from word of mouth and the way social media has taken control of our lives.  Someone grabs a film and if they like it they share it on Facebook and Twitter and before you know it everyone has at least heard of it.  A few months back, Midnight Releasing released the biblical horror film Hell Fire.  The film's artwork did nothing for me but before I knew it people were talking about how surprised they were at how fun this film actually was.  Midnight Releasing was kind enough to send me a copy of the film so I decided it was time to check it out and to see if everyone was right about it.  

     The film follows the Anti-Christ (Green) who has been mastering the power of reading minds and other demonic powers.  One night he stops by to buy some weed and is attacked by a group of prostitutes who are killing his drug dealer and his goons who just happen to be their pimp.  They kidnap him and take him to a cabin in the woods that is owned by an Asian man who often visits one of the girls.  They tie him down while trying to figure out what to do next since they could not find the money they are looking for.  While they are away, the anti-christ turns his sights on one of the women who was shot.  She is weak and he preys on that weakness to covert her to Satan.  Her soul is now damned and she turns into an undead demon bitch that does his bidding.  During the skirmish one of the girls gains a guilty conscience and tries to make things right but it is too late.  Their leader refuses to let her leave and to make matters worse, one of the girls is now dead due to the demon bitch.  The one girl flees from the cabin while the prostitute learns that he is, in fact, the anti-christ.  The two hatch out a plan to kill a pregnant woman who is carrying the son of God.  The two fuck but the anti-christ is confused as to why he can't read her mind and then it clicks.  She, too, is a child of Satan and they are siblings.  The two then realize they need someone else to kill the son of God since they are unable to do so due to an ancient law.  They drag in her baby's daddy to help her but he gets tangled up with the girl who left earlier and it now up to her to stop the three and the legion of undead in his command before they kill the next Jesus and bring about the apocalypse.  

     Very few films live up to the hype they get on the internet.  I don't know how many times I have got a film because a slew of people recommended it only to be completely let down.  Very rarely does the film live up to the hype but Ill be damned if this film did not.  The film catches your attention as soon as the film starts and refuses to let go.  The acting in this one if phenomenal.  The lead, J. Scott Green, was superb.  This was the first film I have seen Green in but damn did he deliver as the devilishly charming Anti-Christ.  I would love to see a follow up to this film starring him.  The remainder of the cast did a solid job as well supporting him but I did have a problem with his anti-christ counterpart who continuously screams and refuses to talk at a normal audible level.  The story for this one is a fucking crazy one and one I did not expect to see unfold before me.  The film immediately hits you with the anti-christ angle an then follows it up with an all female crime/heist type flick before throwing you in the middle of a cabin in the woods scenario before finishing that up with a solid tribute to Evil Dead.  The story is a beautiful medley of different cinematic cliches that result in a rather unique film.  Finally, the film has a few on screen kills but the focal point of the film is the grotesque undead demons.  These things are vicious and deserve to be praised.  My only complaint, which is a hue complaint. is the cinematography in this film.  I understand that most films are shot in small, confined spaces making it hard to get wide angles but the shots in this one are way too up close resulting in a great deal of the movie being missed.  We get so many close ups of the characters that we are unaware of what is going on around them.  Several wide angle shots would have prevented this.  Overall, Hell Fire is a damn fine film that deserves heavy rotation among the classic horror films of the 80s.  The film is gruesome and beautiful all at the same time.  Please check this one out.  I will only ask you once!