Hell Fire (2012) Review – You Might Question Your Faith

Admittedly, I had my doubts about Hell Fire when I saw the trailer and the clips, but something about four hookers and the Antichrist compelled me to watch it anyway. I’m here to tell you that I’m really glad that I did, because this movie won me over. It’s an intense, fun ride full of gore, vulgarity, and a really twisted sense of humor.

It’s true that this movie has plenty of cheesy moments, and is generally an all-around B movie, however, the dialog is actually believable and the cast does an amazing job to deliver their lines in a realistic and natural way. So, kudos to writer/director Marc Fratto and the cast for doing a better job than most B movies do despite their hardworking intentions. What’s more, and it’s actually pretty terrifying, Fratto presents a creation story that’s actually plausible, and it involves the human race being created in Satan’s image. Ok, it might be blasphemously plausible if Christianity is your faith. If not, then it’s just a cool concept.

Kudos also has to be given to the special effects team, who did a fantastic job with the blood, wounds, and creature effects.

Fratto states in the DVD commentary that Evil Dead was a big influence on Hell Fire, and color my pink, after he said that I was like, “Holy crap! I can’t believe I didn’t see that. Of course it was.” But of course, Hell Fire comes from a different place, tells a different story, and ends in a totally different way.

In Hell Fire we have four hookers who each have their own shitty life story, but that doesn’t mean they’re content to continue in their miserable existence. Nope, these ladies have ambitions for something more, and the way to achieve those ambitions is to take out their pimp to “maybe” make a six-figure score. Things don’t go according to plan and they end up kidnapping someone who turns out to be the Antichrist. Now, the really interesting thing here is that the Antichrist isn’t all that you’d expect him to be. Dad isn’t really all that interested in helping him out and the extent of his powers seems to be the ability to read minds. He is learning though, which isn’t good for the hookers.

The Verdict:

Hell Fire is definitely a low-budget movie, and it shows in the camera work, the editing, the color palette, the lighting, and in the character make-up (too many pores and blemishes). But the dialog is realistic and punchy, the actors know their cues, the action is well choreographed, the humor is actually funny and relevant (sometimes self-referencing and self-deprecating), and nothing is taken too serious. The tone is set from the start of the movie, and that tone is fun. There's definitely cult status contained here and definitely the possibility of repeat viewing.