Despite the credentials of its highly experienced crew, amazing sets and a genuinely likeable cast, Hell Fest is (very sadly) a little bit underwhelming. It scores points for initially taking time to develop its characters to some extent, but the pacing is all over the place. It takes forever for someone (we care about) to die (which is never a good thing in a 90-minute slasher film) and then it possibly dispatches of a third of the main cast within 60 seconds 5 minutes from the end! I say possibly, because the pacing is so quick and the fate of said characters is never confirmed (to the best of my knowledge).

The sets and cinematography are wonderful, with the reds and greens on display reminiscent of Glen Morgan’s visually pleasing but trashy Black Xmas remake. The cast which includes the always excellent Tony Todd, Scream the TV series’ Bex Taylor-Klaus and Channel Zero: No End House’s Amy Forsyth are all genuinely likeable which helps their characters come alive. They made me laugh and I cared about them. The excellent Bear McCreary turns in another awesome score too.

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Despite everyone’s best intentions and some fine elements at play, the individual strands never quite come together. It’s as though the setting itself (whilst undoubtedly being the film’s strongest selling point) works against the effectiveness of the film, as you find yourself jumping at the organic funhouse elements by chance, as opposed to any of the designed set pieces. The coda at the end is pleasing (and dare I say, even a little chilling) but the ending overall is weak, as very little is explained. Now I don’t need to be spoon fed, but it really leaves the viewer hanging by a thread and not in a cliffhanger kind of way either.

Phil Davies Brown

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