Hellmouth

source: Hellmouth

This could have been a good flick but the story was too muddled. At the end of it, I find myself asking, what was the point of it?! The CG / effects are hair better than a typical SciFi channel movie; with a bigger budget, the film's visuals could have been outstanding. As it is, sometimes they're interesting and other times they're almost distractingly bad. As far as the acting, Stephen McHattie certainly stands out in a good way, but the rest of the cast are pretty standard and not all that interesting. Unfortunately, McHattie can't make up for the film's drawbacks, and ultimately what drags the film down is any lack of coherence or depth to the plot. The teaser "Hellmouth is about a gravekeeper who is drawn into a hell dimension to save the soul of a beautiful woman" sums the film up completely, and sadly, there's not really any depth to the story beyond this statement. This is one of those films that felt like it could have had real vision, but failed due to a lack of focus by the film maker.

Hellmouth is a movie I came across that was streaming for free on Tubi. The storyline depicts a graveyard grounds keeper about to retire, played by Stephen McHattie, that is drawn to hell to save the soul or a young lady. The movie is filmed in a Sin City format that is very fun and well done. The storyline and character delivery is a bit uneven, but the scenery and setting make up for it. The movie is far from perfect but is definitely worth your time. I'd give it a 6/10.

The both together make for a great horror/fantasy movie. The movie is very much done in the style of Sin City, with very striking visuals and odd splashes of colour. And sepia tones. This actually works here as it goes with the fantasy elements of the film. The story and acting are very good with a strong script, a good music score and of cause great acting all around. The special effects looked good and went well with the overall tone and feel of the film. It probably won't appeal to a few viewers but if you like your films a little more artistic, this is for you.

I knew within the first five minutes of watching this move that it was something really unique. Not really a horror movie, which the name and poster suggest. First of all there is Stephen McHattie, who is a seriously underrated actor. Second, the visuals and filming of the movie are really quite unique. It wanders a bit as the movie progresses, but is well wroth watching. Fantastic.

'Enhanced' to the point of unwatchable. Too bad, love McHattie, enjoyed Pontypool.

McHattie! Always a whynot movie. Put in your favorite music mix and play this on mute. People won't stop asking you what this movie is. It's beautifully cheesy/cheap. Cant go wrong. You're welcome.

An 80% CGI dark moody atmospheric film with shades of Diablo and Dante's Inferno. I think the casting was perfect. While the setting was stylized, everyone was believable. It's a fun ride throughout the movie. Definitely recommended for fans of dark realities and unlikely heroes. The ending though, could of been expanded a bit more. With the current ending they gave us I can draw a good conclusion (he's free) and a bad one (history repeats itself). I'm leaning a little bit to the later due to the color shift at the end.

I expected to dislike this movie after the first ten minutes and almost bailed. I'm glad I did not. I am not a fan of the "Sin City" brand of cinematography (short depth-of-field actor shots combined with post-production film noir digitization), and originally was turned-off to see it here. However, the story won me over. Really, this film is a rather traditional fairy tale or allegory set within a digital landscape: that of the Seeker, a man who does not quite know who he is but has been given one last task--here, the order to fill in for another caretaker at another cemetery--that allows him to journey to find himself. Along the way he meets what he thinks is his real purpose--the saving of a ghostly damsel in distress--only to find by the end of the movie that his purpose is much more complicated than that. The last twenty minutes or so reminded me quite a bit of Bergman's work--"Wild Strawberries" especially--and were well-done in making their philosophical or allegorical "point." Having said all that, I do think this is a movie that could be hard to follow if you just "watch." The post-production digitization is impressive at times, but can also distract from the story-line. I almost feel that this film could be easily adapted for the stage where it would be even more impressive. It really takes place in only four "locations," and would be easier to follow from a dialogue point-of-view. At any rate, I highly recommend this movie and am considering a purchase for my collection. Stephen McHattie is simply excellent in the title role. As he is the "straight man" to the otherwise purposely "flat" or characterized acting of the others, his was the role that truly mattered. And he was simply excellent.

Wow, I put this on and couldn't believe how good it was, like Mandy and Sin City all rolled into one. Can't understand it's low rating, an absolute gem!