Hell Fest (2018)

 

 

 

 

Another day another movie and this time it's Hell Fest from 2018.  Like Scare Zone from yesterday this is another crazed killer loose in a Halloween haunted attraction slasher flick.  Unlike Scare Zone though Hell Fest mostly takes place outside and clearly this film has a bigger budget.  Hell Fest even splurged and got Tony "Candyman" Todd to give a five minute cameo which doesn't really add much to the film but the effort is appreciated.  Other than Tony Todd this one doesn't come with much else in star power neither in front of or behind the camera.  Doing the directing is Gregory Plotkin who did the next to last Paranormal Activity installment The Ghost Dimension.  The film also features a bunch of young stars none of which I've ever heard of before either. The story centers around three young ladies who along with their boyfriends decide to go to the titular haunted Halloween attraction.      

 

 

 

 

 The three ladies are played by Amy Forsyth (Coda, The Novice, and A Christmas Horror Story) as Natalie, Reign Edwards (Pilgrim and Love You Anyway) as Brooke, and Bex Taylor-Klaus (Dumplin' and MTV's Scream series Halloween special) as Taylor.  The girls all have boyfriends who appear in the film as well but the girls are the obvious main characters for this one.  While this might not be mind blowing it certainly LOOKS like it should be a good film.  Also it sounds like it's a better film than it is.  Maybe that is wrong actually because it's the music, by Bear McCreary, that adds to the suspense and sets the tone of the film really well so the music by itself gets a star. As I said the film looks gorgeous with the fog machines working overtime as it places a shroud over all of the outdoor scenes making the lighting look even more creepy.  The inside scenes aren't lacking any either as there are plenty of red or black lights to go around.  The movie was filmed at Six Flags White Water in Georgia using a lot of their Fright Fest decorations.       

 

 

 

 

So it looks good and sounds good plus the acting isn't bad either.  No stand out performances but as long as there isn't anything horrible I can deal with it.  So we have one star for the music, I'll give another one to the lighting and atmosphere as well.  And I'll also give the actors a star.  So we're at three stars, how much farther can we go on this one?  Not much more, unfortunately, as this one has zero character nor story development.  Folks are dropping over dead before I have a chance to decide if I give a damn about them and while I know who the killer is I never got an idea of why they are committing these murders.  So there's little to no story.  Sort of like parading the characters out; these are the victims and this is the killer now let the fun begin.  Also, for a slasher film there's little gore unlike Scare Zone where if not original kills they were at least a little bloody.  In Hell Fest the kills feel somewhat boring although there is one good kill with one of those over sized test of strength wooden mallets.  But that's about it the rest are basically stabbings or literally slashing kills.  I guess the film was set up to have sequels because like I said there's no explanation for the killings or who it even is doing them and we get an odd ending scene as well.  So that's where the film leaves us and as I type this I figured out what this one is perfect viewing for: throw one of those pumpkin carving parties and this will be perfect to have playing in the background.  So we will give three souvenir photo booths out of five for this Scare Zone wannabe but ain't quite ever gonna be.