HELLGATE

HELLGATE

Three friends - Pam (Petrea Curran), her boyfriend Chuck (Evan J Klisser) and Bobby (Joanne Warde) - gather at a log cabin one stormy evening, on the night before they're due to embark on a vacation together. They're there waiting for the final member of their party, Matt (Ron Palillo) to join them so they can start enjoying the delights of rural America.

When Chuck's attempt at scaring the girls with a ghost story fails, Bobby intercuts with the tale of ill-fated hitchhiker Josie (Abigail Wolcott) who got accosted by a biker gang called Thee Strangers in her hometown, the ghost town of Hellgate.

Via flashback, we learn of how the gang tormented Josie to her death prior to be chased off by her father Lucas (Carel Trichardt). Which is all good and not-so-well, until Lucas' friend made a discovery in a local disused gold mine - a mysterious glowing blue crystal that has the power to bring things back to life.

So, Lucas puts the crystal to the test on a goldfish, and then a stuffed turtle. They both duly spring back into action (the latter attacking his face) before promptly exploding.

But that doesn't stop Lucas, now 30 years older as signified by the fact that his Bunuel-esque moustache has been removed and his hair has been dyed grey, from re-animating Josie with said crystal.

Enter Matt at this point, who turns up in the area in his car, ready to meet up with his friends for the aforementioned holiday. But first, he runs into Josie - and all Hell breaks loose shortly after...

What's it all about? Fuck knows. Honestly.

HELLGATE is a fast-paced, cheap and frequently trashy proposition that, with its stylised filtered lighting schemes and Richard Band-esque score - not to mention its regular doses of crude gore effects and amply sized bare breasts - could easily be mistaken for a Full Moon picture.

In truth, this is a South African production helmed by the American director of BLACKENSTEIN and WHAM! BAM! THANK YOU SPACEMAN!, William A Levey. Paring back Michael O'Rourke's original screenplay due to budgetary restrictions, the director was also forced by his producers to hire a load of incompetent local actors and then ask that they speak in bogus American accents. The results speak for themselves.

Yes indeed, the acting is pretty atrocious throughout HELLGATE. Which doesn't help the film's silly script any. It's fortunate, then, that the cast are so witlessly appealing. The late Palillo - the sole American Levey was allowed to fly over - had the look of Steve Guttenberg and, on this occasion, shared his grinning charm too. It adds a knowing sense of fun to the horror set-pieces, and an agreeable 'naughty boy' element to the sex scenes. Interestingly, and probably lost on most British viewers, the guy was best known in his homeland as an innocuous daytime sitcom star - so seeing him in a gory B-movie where he appears fully nude must've really been something for unsuspecting American viewers in the early 90s.

Wolcott was better known as a model at the time, and is wisely given little more to do than stand around in see-through attire looking ethereal. Her bottom, barely restrained by tight panties, is the clear star of the early biker torment scene. At least, that's how Levey must have seen it: he ensures it has close-ups at every available opportunity. I'm not complaining.

Elsewhere, there are no kudos to be doled out. The cast are indeed inept (most of them are adopting a fake accent, to be fair - more on that a little later).

Beyond the performances, the script is all over the place and allows for some of the most head-scratching moments imaginable. How come things explode when subjected to the crystal's rays, but Wolcott's character doesn't? How come the tourist trap never has visitors? Why do characters fail to react to the presence of zombies, dead friends and so forth? Why didn't they fire the continuity bloke?!

HELLGATE is one strange film. The special effects are of the cheesy, rubbery design (though quite bloody at times) and the pace is relentless. Blu-ray shows it to be a quite colourfully and brightly lit film, unexpectedly, but that still can't distract from the fact that one scene feels so disjointed from the next - a trend that continues for this weird proposition's duration.

A likening to Lucio Fulci's CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD has been mentioned online previously. I can see this, superficially. Both films utilise a possible gate to Hell as their stomping ground, and see fit to throw zombies into the mix from there. But whereas Fulci went for the Gothic and surreal, Levey goes all-out for the absurd. When headless characters start singing in the fridge and girls cross their eyes as their beaus go down on them, you have to honestly wonder whether or not this is a comedy.

I suspect that it is. But the fact that I have to raise that question at all, should give you some indication as to how messed up this film is.

I'm sure I can't have been the only one to raise an eyebrow when Arrow Films Video announced plans to release this fun slice of trash onto special edition dual format blu-ray and DVD.

But here it is. And, as the blu-ray screener disc provided for review purposes testifies, the results are indeed handsome.

The film is presented uncut and in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The MPEG4-AVC file employed proffers the film in full 1080p HD, in a new transfer from the original camera negative. Despite some soft focus photography and tiny elements of print damage here and there, the results are very pleasing to the eye. Never before has HELLGATE looked so bright or so colourful. Fine grain on screen appears natural, while a healthy amount of detail and impressive range of depth work alongside a vivid palette and solid blacks to build a most impressive transfer.

English audio gets treated to a robust, reliable 2.0 PCM mix.

The disc opens to an animated main menu page. From there, a pop-up scene-selection menu allows access to the film via the usual 12 chapters.

Bonus features commence with an enjoyable and informative 35-minute interview with Levey. Though perhaps a little too brisk to take the credit on all fronts, the director comes across as affable and engaging in the main. He speaks how he accepted the offer of making the film in South Africa despite reservations about the apartheid problem there, and the ill logic of hiring locals to act on the strength of their ability to speak with an American accent (the film was based in America in a bid to appeal to a wider audience). To this end, Levey recalls how he rejected a fantastic actress purely because she couldn't nail the required actress. Her name is Embeth Davidz, and she went on to find wide acclaim in SCHINDLER'S LIST.

A 12-minute interview with film scholar Howard S Berger follows. He refers to the film as "odd" and "insane" at various points, and suggests that it's perhaps best enjoyed by people between the ages of 6 and 12. Having said that, he exhibits a great deal of affection for this demented piece of action, recognises its similarities to Fulci's classic and takes great delight in musing over the actors' inability to understand the phonetics of the accents they've been asked to master.

"Video Nasty" affords PUPPET MASTER creator Kenneth J Hall an 8-minute opportunity to give his account of the late 80s/early 90s 'direct-to-video' phenomenon.

Although not available for review, this release also comes with a DVD housing all of the above, in standard definition.

Also included in this set, but not reviewed here, are reversible cover artwork and a collectors' booklet containing a new essay on the film by Lee Gamblin.

It may well be that HELLGATE doesn't really deserve such stellar treatment. But when a film provides this much guilty fun, it's hard not to admire Arrow for providing it with such a luscious release.

By Stuart Willis


 
Released by Arrow Video
Region B
Rated 18
Extras :
see main review
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