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Cast: Debbie Rochon, Jennifer Grace, Pleasant Gehman
Hell Town follows the melodramatic antics of high school seniors clashing over love, sex, and betrayal. In the middle of all the everyday drama of one-sided infatuations, backstabbing bitchiness, bottled-up sexuality, sibling rivalry and general small-town angst, the Letter Jacket Killer is killing students in a variety of sadistic ways. As the body count rises and the blood pools closer to home, it becomes clear that one of our main characters is the killer. Everyone, from the prom queen and shirtless jock to the nosey geek and the super bitch, are all suspects in the carnage.
"Hell Town" claims to be lost episodes 7, 8 and 9 of season two of a TV series of the same name, a soap opera to be exact. It tells the story of two families, the Gables and the Manlys. Scream Queen, Debbie Rochon hosts the show and sets up the film before it starts and in between episodes. I am not going to go into any more plot details here so not to ruin the fun that awaits those of you that want to see it but I will say that "Hell Town" is a soap opera parody and it comes with all the zany, over the top characters and of course a serial killer known as the "Letter Jacket Killer."
"Hell Town" is a horror/Mystery/Thriller about someone in town who is killing off the star football players and stealing the letters off their jackets. The kills are cool and the film does a great job at keeping you guessing who the killer is which isn't revealed until episode 9. But first and foremost the film is a soap opera spoof and it is well-written, clever and very funny and at times drop dead hilarious. In fact I enjoyed all the crazy characters and their dialogue so much I at times forgot there was a serial killer on the loose and I don't mean that in a bad way.
The story has many different characters in it and none of them are wasted, the cast which includes, Ben Windholz, Jennifer Grace, B Pleasant Gehman Krysten Day, Amanda Deibert and Owen Lawless to name a few are all terrific. Some of the best actors in Independent cinema today are gathered here and everyone gives an amazing tongue in cheek performance. "Hell Town" is available to rent or own on Dish Network, Cox, Charter, Verizon Fios, iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu and more from Gravitas Ventures.
I liked everything about the film, it has a sense of dread to it and mystery and there are some clever kills in the film as well. It also tosses in a few twists towards the end of the movie. It is also very funny and it keeps you glued to the screen the entire time as you wait to see who gets offed or who gets it on next. I can't forget mentioning Director's Steve Balderson and Elizabeth Spear who did a great job blending the horror elements with the comedy while keeping the film moving at a nice pace.
"Hell Town" is a laugh out loud comedy with just enough nastiness to give it an edge. If you like a good horror/comedy then I highly recommend checking this out.
Released by Gravitas Ventures
**** Out Of *****
"HELL TOWN" horror soap opera - trailer from Steve Balderson on Vimeo.