Hell Is Empty

Hypnotized by the period detail of The Yellow Wallpaper, (2021-also reviewed) I decided to continue peeling away at the line-up of the Cine-Excess Film Festival, by discovering how empty hell is.

View on the film:

Arriving to the island where the one Male figure is also the lone figure with power to rule over all the inhabitants, co-editor/co-writer (with Adam Desantes) / director Jo Shaffer & cinematographer Alex Halstead casts a wide-net eerie atmosphere of unsettling stilted wide-shots gazing at the horror inflicted on women who question Ed's cult on the land.

This stylish thriller pulls you in from the opening seconds, as a mysterious man rescues (or kidnaps?) battered teenage runaway Lydia. She opens her eyes on a secluded island surrounded by female cult members in antique dresses, who have likewise been drawn in by the messianic leader. From there, the pace doesn't let up for an instant as the cult's new recruit warms to the welcoming household but soon discovers trouble in paradise. "Hell Is Empty" is dazzlingly cinematic, casting a spell with lush imagery, ingenious camera setups, a haunting score, artful montages, and costumes and set design inspired by the cult leader's folk-art obsession. Viewers are as bewitched as Lydia, thinking--at least until storm clouds start to gather--that they've landed in heaven rather than hell.

This movie throws the whole kitchen sink into the psychological aspects of the story. I will watch any movie that challenges the church system and this was a strong message to get out about the lunacy of break away religions/cults.

Ya ya ya its poorly made, most independent movies are but what we got here is a very interesting concept with lots of gore. The acting isnt oscar worthy, what Bfilms are? If you like movies about cults, gore and woodlife gone wrong you might get Hell Is Empty.

As Shakespeare said; "Hell is empty and all devils are here". This beautifully crafted compact indie proves such a point. Ed (aka, Artist) and his coven of sister wives live together on an island in a shanty that is the perfect back drop for a Hierronymus Bosch like cult. They find a young woman the woods and take her back to the shanty for Artist as if she was a flower and for some unspoken reason the young woman goes with them. This bothered me because it was never explained why she went with them all willy nilly. Perhaps a part two of Hell Is Empty needs to be made. Even thou the characters aren't defined in depth, there is an acceptance one gets from being plopped into this grotesque situation and man was I glad to get back to my mundane life. Maybe that is why i watch such films.