Hellgate

Hellgate is an old Californian mining town that is now populated by ghosts, zombies and a creepy looking guy that owns a glowing magical crystal. He uses this for things such as reanimating the dead, causing living things to drastically change physically, create explosions, etc. Four college friends (two couples) find themselves trapped there. Hellgate was filmed in South Africa and the first thing that becomes apparent is the bad acting, the "American" accents are terribly fake. Another thing that is obvious is that the "kids" are played by actors older than their characters, the leading guy was 40 when he appeared in this! The movie has plenty of special effects some of which are quite gory, for example an axe in a head kill, another sees fingers being cut off, etc. We get plenty of sex and nudity plus for atmosphere the fog machine works overtime. This movie obviously wasn't intended to be taken seriously, a goldfish expands into a large hideous fish that bursts its glass bowl before exploding, there is a talking decapitated head in a fridge, and so on. Best looking chick award goes to Abigail Wolcott for playing the sexy blonde ghost Josie, at one point she goes for a nude stroll across a ballroom dance floor. Part of the plot is set in the 1950's so we are treated to some old rock and roll records, the soundtrack also features classical music, a ghostly performance of the Can Can being a "highlight". I first watched Hellgate in VHS many years ago and recall being disappointed, however having just watched it again, this time on DVD, I found it entertaining but in the trashy sense. Booze helped!

Master thespian Ron Palillo, who you might remember far more as none other than Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter fame, stars as a young man embroiled in an urban legend about a ghost town where a man brings back those he kills with a rock crystal. Sure this is a cheapie. Was it a direct to video release? The story is absolute dreck and the performances are just as bad, but the film is not without some bright spots. I really thought the idea of the ghost town was interesting and even enjoyed the expository flashback in the beginning. What really goes wrong in this film is the use of that aforementioned crystal. It is just plain silly, especially when you see it used on a bat with obvious strings, a goldfish in a bowl, and a dead turtle. The acting is so preposterous as a girl, having just seen a horde of dead walk toward her and seeing her boyfriend lose his head, sits calmly in a saloon watching cabaret dancers. Who makes this stuff up? The dialogue is uttered with no conviction at all and is stupid to begin with. The budget may not have been plentiful, but the sets do look rather decent. Lead actor Palillo tries his level best to be affable, but let's face it - it is way beyond his means as an actor. The actress Abigail Wolcott is visually stunning, and it is no coincidence we see lots of her unclad. She is definitely the brightest spot...OK, spots, the film has to offer.

Yes, this is a horrible movie. But look at all of the *good* things. Gratuitous sex. Random psychopaths. Gratuitous slow-motion action sequences. Similar visual effects as Hellraiser (the really cheesy Hellraiser effects, granted...). Gratuitous exploding things for no particular reason. It's b-horror at its best. Laughed the whole way through it! Though, I have to admit, the final body count was a bit of a disappointment...

Intriguing horror film about a young woman who is kidnapped and murdered. Years later she returns as a ghost who lures travelers to a ghost town filled with zombies and other various creatures to die. However, she falls in love with her latest victim and is intent on keeping him to herself. Good complex premise with detailed characterizations and many interesting flashback scenes and other various legends, but poor acting & special effects and almost inept direction destroy it. Rated R; Graphic Violence, Profanity, Nudity, and Sexual Situations.

It is always hard to review a movie that is just so bad. Hellgate proves to be one of those movies. Starring Ron Palillo of "Welcome Back Cotter" and playing a smaller part in "Friday the 13th Part 6", this is absolutely the best this movie can muster, other than some nudity of the co-star Abigail Wolcott as Josie.

The story unfolds in classic manner: we start with a flashback of a biker gang coming into the town of Hellgate. They kidnap Josie and murder her in front of her father. Her father, distraught over the death of his daughter, finds away to bring her back from the dead using a mysterious stone that was found in a mine. Unfortuanitly, he goes mad with power and turns the town of Hellgate into a ghost town. 30 years later, two couples end up exploring into Hellgate to find out about the mystery and get more than they bargained for.

I saw this film about 10 years ago and couldn't remember whether it was any good or not to watch over. So, with a little bit of searching, I found a fairly decent copy of this flick. I will put it this way, this is a hard film to sit through. It starts off kind of interesting with its back story but just goes on a tangent of hopeless boredom, bad acting, and horrendous script writing. Most of the movie seems to be torn from a bad comedy or an old fashioned horror film and not melding together with pretty results. And the worst part is the ending just falls flat on its face with absolutely NO real climax. The only part I really liked was Josie's crazy father in the movie, who apparently can't speak a word of English.

Altogether, if you have a very high tolerance for movies such as this, go ahead and check it out. Otherwise, stay very VERY far away. 4/10