Hell Fest (2018)

Directed by: Gregory Plotkin | 89 minutes | horror | Actors: Cynthea Mercado, Stephen Conroy, Amy Forsyth, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards, Christian James, Matt Mercurio, Roby Attal, George Howard Adams, Courtney Dietz, Markus Silbiger, Michael Tourek, Tony Todd, Aaron Gillespie, Cecil Elmore Jr ., Elle Graham

The concept of ‘Hell Fest’ is brilliant: a horror amusement park full of special effects and costumed visitors is ravaged by a masked killer. Who is the real killer among the costumed monsters? With such a synopsis you have come a long way and it is therefore not surprising why studio bosses gave the green light for this slasher. Unfortunately for them, a film has to be more than an idea. Peripheral matters such as a script, acting and editing are also part of the noble profession of cinema. oops…

‘Hell Fest’ takes place during Halloween in the amusement park ‘Hell Fest’. This location is intended to terrify visitors. Unfortunately, this ‘fright night’ becomes reality when it turns out that a murderer is bartering around among the costumed guests. This killer is out for blood and wants to kill a group of friends.

The problem with ‘Hell Fest’ – and for countless similar slashers with a great story – is that the whole movie hangs on the story and then nothing is done with it. The main characters are faceless cannon fodder and the killer lacks a personality. In addition, the massacres are not exactly creative. There was a lot of potential in ‘Hell Fest’, but this film doesn’t live up to those expectations.

If more attention had been paid to a good script and an appealing cast had been chosen, this could have been a great film. In its current state, ‘Hell Fest’ is yet another soulless, glossy-looking teen horror film that never comes to fruition. Too little blood flows and the villain does not stand out in any way. Apparently the makers of this movie realized that too. The rather prominent commendation ‘From An Executive Producer Of The Walking Dead’ on the film cover speaks volumes in that regard: people themselves do not know what to do with this film and how to market it. If you have to use a rather vague term like ‘executive producer’ of a waning series like ‘The Walking Dead’ to promote your film, something really goes wrong…