John Geddes' "HELLMOUTH"
Review by Dennis D. McDonald
There are scores of junky independent horror movies on Amazon Prime but Hellmouth is head and shoulders above the crowd.
We follow our about-to-retire and gravely ill gravedigger hero as he is assigned “one more job” in a distant cemetery. On his way there he encounters a Beautiful Woman with a Secret. He becomes ensnared with her backstory, escaped convicts, and supernatural links to Hell.
What starts out as a seeming throwback to 50’s film noir soon evolves into a CGI-heavy twilight world of creatures, pits, demonic possession, and hallucinatory set pieces reminiscent at times of Sin City.
It’s quite a ride. Holding everything together is a standout performance by Stephen McHattie as the haunted gravedigger/hero as we experience his increasingly bizarre and emotionally draining encounters with a weird world that seems dedicated to preventing his ever seeing real daylight. Recommended.
Review copyright (c) 2021 by Dennis D. McDonald
