Hell Fest does not re-invent the horror wheel or anything, and it does feature a rather thin story and even thinner villain, but the ensemble cast was likeable enough.
Hell Fest
(2018)
Genre(s): Horror, Thriller
Lionsgate | R – 89 min. – $39.99 | January 8, 2019
Date Published: 01/20/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Lionsgate provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: A group of friends — Natalie (AMY FORSYTH), Brooke (REIGN EDWARDS), Taylor (BEX TAYLOR-KLAUS), Quinn (CHRISTIAN JAMES), Asher (MATT MERCURIO) and Gavin (ROBY ATTAL) — are bound for a horror-themed Halloween event at a local amusement park — a sprawling labyrinth of rides, games, and mazes that travels the country and happens to be in town. But for one visitor, the ghoulish carnival of nightmares is not the attraction — it is a hunting ground.
On the night the friends attend, a masked serial killer turns the amusement park into his own playground, terrorizing attendees while the rest of the patrons believe that it is all part of the show. As the body count and frenzied excitement of the crowd continue to rise, who will fight to survive the night? Quick Hit Review: Despite the lousy reviews, from both the critics and audience members, I actually didn’t think Hell Fest was all that bad. Was it terribly memorable or groundbreaking in any sense? Not at all. The acting at least wasn’t bad from a fairly fresh faces, though I did recognize Bex Taylor-Klaus from Scream: The TV Series and a recurring role on Arrow, and at least on the former pretty much has a similar personality. The killer and his mask is non-descript and hardly scary, and the “character” lacked very much development beyond the final scene.
Beyond that, there’s really not much that stands out. The direction under Gregory Plotkin is rather basic, though this is his second feature film following Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, so I can say at least Hell Fest was a step up… Besides those two films, he primarily served as an editor on many horror films including 5 of the Paranormal Activity films, Happy Death Day, Game Night and the critically acclaimed… Get Out. Wow. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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Review |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Lionsgate releases Hell Fest where it’s presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a nice looking 1080p high-definition transfer. Despite the movie being rather dark, and mostly taking place at night, black levels are fairly deep and well balanced. Detail was sharp and nicely defined throughout. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| The disc includes a strong DTS: X track which wasn’t anything extraordinary yet when the horrors really ramp up, the blood-curdling screams and Bear McCreary’s score blares from every speaker along with any ambient noises present such as the crowd noises within the park or spooky sounds on the attractions. |
OVERALL – 3.25/5 |
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Overall, Hell Fest does not re-invent the horror wheel or anything, and it does feature a rather thin story and even thinner villain, but the ensemble cast was likeable enough including Amy Forsyth and the spunky Bex Taylor-Klaus were the highlights. This is at best a rental. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.