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Hell House
Directed by: George Ratliff
Starring: Trinity Church/ Assembly of God members
Genre:
Documentary/ Independent
Run Time: 85
min.
Release Date:
September 2001
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Wanna get the crap scared
out of you? And I don’t mean that in any respectfully horror-ish way
when referring to HELL HOUSE. I mean it in a way that’ll cause
you to doubt human sanity.
Technique-wise, I have to give the creators of this idea a definite
thumbs up. Utilizing graphic imagery to frighten people toward God, the
Assembly of God Church has accomplished something quite unique every
October 31st. Threatening sinners with eternal damnation if they have
premarital sex, are gay, or attend a rave party, this church puts on a
haunted house filled with gore and violence each Halloween. The actors
and actresses are pulled from their congregation annually. Some are
young women who dip their crotches in fake blood and scream in mock pain
while perched on a makeshift hospital gurney (their dialogue during this
horrific scene is centered around “the morning after pill”and how
dangerous it is ...which is completely untrue of course, but we’re
talking self-induced abortion so this little fib is obviously okay.)
Other scenes include a homosexual man dying of AIDS. A ghoulishly evil
creature hovers around him and comments on his “evil lifestyle choice”
as he groans his last breath and is ushered into everlasting pain and
devilish servitude (never mind that the man may have been a pediatrician
who cured a type of cancer that saved thousands of lives. Homo? You’re
goin’ to Hell!)
At the end of peoples’ tour through these strange Halloween acts, prayer
groups are offered up for those who wish to be saved. Never mind that
the pressure put on the guests by the aforementioned scenes and the
“limited time” they have to act on this compulsion are stressed to the
maximum (“You have six seconds to walk through that door and be saved by
Jesus. One...”)
Probably the biggest downer here is that this is a growing phenomenon.
Forget that God is merciful or full of love or wants you to be happy.
That’s not what this is about. This is all about fear and the tactics
used to instill it by a group of individuals who claim to be
“religious.” Excuse me but isn’t religion supposed to be about
acceptance, caring, and the loving nature of Jesus/God? Maybe I’m
missing something.
The other issue is that these Assembly of God members obviously have no
idea what Halloween is about nor its history (Note: All Hallows Day –
also known as "All Saints' Day". The holiday was a day of religious
festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes
Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints'
Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured
the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine
calendar. Although we now consider All Saints' – or Hallows' – day to be
on the day after Halloween, they were, at that time, considered to be
the same day.)
The church also shows how suicide is a sin. But God (nor the bible) ever
said this (Note: “In the early Christian era suicide was not only
tolerated, but condoned by the church, as a result certain sects such as
the Donatists and the Circumcellions jumped off cliffs in great numbers
to hasten an afterlife that promised greater rewards than those found on
jolly old Earth. Faced with the loss of so many of its members, and
rapidly shrinking collection plates, in the sixth century the church
decided that anyone else who committed suicide was going to hell.” Bet
you won’t be hearing that “biblical history” during a sermon any time
soon.)
There’s a brief shining moment when a group of young men and women
confront the designers of Hell House and tell them how wrong all
of this is (thus my two star rating). But it falls on deaf ears and is
quickly swept under the rug in the documentary.
(back to top) |
Image from Hell House
DVD cost: $17.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Every year Trinity Church
puts on a Hell House, and every year they attract around 13,000
visitors.
Movie Quote: "Welcome.
Your journey has finally brought you to the place of eternal agony."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Hell House
No Images Available |
