Hell Hole had its world premiere at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival. It’s the latest horror film from the Adams family and exactly right for the monster-loving, classic horror fan. From the gnarly, tentacled beast to the glorious gore, Hell Hole is a killer ride. It doesn’t have the usual artistic tones of their previous films, but may be just what introduces the filmmaking family to a broader audience. Furthermore, I’m a big fan of the Adams family films, so let’s get this totally biased review out of the way.
In keeping with my usual tradition of not watching trailers, I hit play with a quickness. However, that’s not what I recommend. Watch this movie trailer! Hell Hole is directed by Toby Poser and John Adams and the synopsis reads as follows:
In the Adams Family’s celebration of the classic creature-feature, an American-led fracking crew working deep in the Serbian wilderness find themselves at odds with government assigned environmental advisors. When they get approval to drill, the workers uncover the unimaginable: a dormant parasitic monster entombed deep in the frozen rock. Now awakened, it tears through the mining facility in search of the perfect host.
The special ingredients
Filmmakers Toby Poser and John Adams seem to have wasted no time following up their last feature, Where the Devil Roams. In their usual charming fashion, the Adams family assembled their team to write, direct, edit, act, and compose music. Thanks to a larger budget, this creative team wrangled us up a true, The Thing-esque creature. Additionally, the cold and desolate setting provided the ideal environment for a monster to wreak havoc.
Toby Poser plays the perfect part as the once pot-loving hippie turned cold, fracking, nature-polluting boss babe. Her American crew sets up shop in the desolate Siberian wilderness and must work with the local environmental impact crew to begin drilling. Unfortunately for them, they unearth a centuries-old Napoleonic era soldier with a dormant parasite in his belly. From there, things just get better. Well, for us horror fans anyway.
The goods
As someone who rarely watches a trailer, that was one helluva intro. We have a parasitic monster hellbent on tearing its way into the world and a bunch of people with no means to stop it. Despite some uneven performances and unneeded exposition, this is where I see a lot of the Adams family signature. I enjoyed the dialogue. There was something natural in the way that everyone interacted with each other. CGI isn’t the best but this is a very low budget film. Thankfully, there’s plenty of bloody action and bad decisions to drive this comedy horror. Also, there are likable characters and plenty of people to shout at for making bad decisions. What’s more to love? The monster effects are killer. People explode! Punctuating it all is the killer music.
Overall, the story is interesting, fun, and exciting. Although the humor might not be for you, the comedic moments are well spaced. Moreover, I appreciate that it might be funny but never goofy. Yes, a tentacled, cone-headed, cyclops monster is searching for a womb. But I want to cheer and not laugh at it. The situation needs a little humor for this special occasion. Everything is delightfully wild.
Hell Hole begins streaming on Shudder, Friday, August 23rd. I can’t think of a more perfect home for it. In the meantime, you can also watch Hellbender on Shudder if you need your Adams family fix.
