Hellmouth

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.

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.

I picked up this movie from my local library without knowing anything about it other than the brief plot synopsis on the back of the DVD case. While it's not one of the worst movies I have ever seen, it's definitely one of the strangest I have seen. And that explains the main problem I had with the movie - it is so determined to be strange and murky that it doesn't give the audience anything to hang on to. The characters are vague; you hardly learn a thing about them. And it doesn't take long for the plot to become all but incomprehensible. As a result, it was hard for me to care about what was going on. Sure, it's visually striking at times, as well as being fairly slick despite what had to be a really low budget. I just wish that the filmmakers had put as much work into the script as they did with the visuals. It didn't come as a surprise when the end credits revealed it was a Canadian movie - it has that Canadian feel as well as pretentious attitude you often get in Canadian cinema. (Though at least the Canadian government's film funding agency didn't waste any of my tax dollars on this particular movie.) Maybe this might have worked as a short subject, but as a feature film it's pretty deadly.

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.

Hellmouth (2014) is a film I stumbled upon on Tubi. The storyline follows a graveyard groundskeeper, played by Stephen McHattie, who's about to retire but is drawn into a journey to hell to save the soul of a young woman.

Directed by John Geddes (Creep Nation), the movie stars Stephen McHattie (Pontypool), Siobhan Murphy (The Sisterhood), Boyd Banks (Dawn of the Dead), Julian Richings (Man of Steel), and Bruce McDonald (Pontypool).

The film is shot in a Sin City-style format, which is visually captivating and engaging throughout. While the storyline and character development are a bit uneven, the striking cinematography and unique setting more than make up for it. McHattie's character is easy to root for, and as a mortician on the verge of retirement, the plot keeps you guessing where things will lead. There are some clever twists and turns, and an unconventional "love story" woven into the narrative. It's a refreshing take on the horror hero genre. Though far from perfect, Hellmouth is a visually distinctive film that's definitely worth checking out. I'd give it a 6/10.