Hellbox

Heed the reviews that describe the poor acting and worse production value. One would see better acting in the average YouTube video. This film is not only the worst film ever, but it is the worst thing to ever happen since the dawn of man.

This is literally the worst movie I've ever seen. Lost two hours of my life. Yes I like thrillers, but there has to be a logical thing to connect the pieces together. In this movie there's nothing. Poor in every possible way.

Sure, I will admit that I was drawn in to watching "Hellbox" given the movie's cover/poster. Yeah, I am a sucker for horror movies, and I did find this movie's cover to be interesting. And the title of the movie does have a nice ring to it.

Had I ever heard about writers Sheldon Inkol and David Scott's 2021 horror movie "Hellbox" prior to watching it? No. Not even a single word. But with it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I had to watch it when I was given the chance.

And the concept here was interesting enough, however the execution from script to screen just wasn't all that interesting. Sure, "Hellbox" was watchable, but it was rather monotonous and somewhat bland. So it wasn't a particularly great horror experience. And for a seasoned horror veteran such as myself, then "Hellbox" just didn't have the contents to deliver a wholesome movie experience.

The various segments felt slow paced and repetitive, so there wasn't much thrills or excitement to be had as "Hellbox" trotted on and on. And the acting performances in the majority of the segments was dubious.

This 2021 horror movie is not a movie that I will recommend you waste your time, money or effort on. Some of us suffered through this so you don't have to.

My rating of "Hellbox" lands on a mere three out of ten stars.

Couldn't even watch the entire movie.

If there is a story here it's meandering aimlessly without a beat.

Flashbacks and uneventful scenes that are not driving the story forward leaves the viewer starved for progress.

And if there is a story they are crawling it forward just to fill up scene time.

Continuity errors. Tepid acting. Unremarkable editing.

Set design and wardrobe considerations are non existent. Probably budget constraints. A case of actors using their own clothing, homes and a crew members equipment.

The coloring of the film is bland. Not visually interesting. It's not a part of the intended atmosphere of the story.

This is essentially a talking heads movie with little in the way of "Hell" as the title suggests.

It's actually Hell to watch and Satan probably plays this movie ad nauseum to torture his damned souls.

Don't open this box indeed. In fact don't start this movie ever!

Yech. :P.

I'd heard nothing of this movie previously (now I know why!) but I was drawn to it by the premise and the cover art. Two minutes into the opening scene I was checking IMDB to see what score it had been given, and I wasn't surprised. It all looked and felt so fake. The costumes and props were unconvincing; the acting and script were equally poor giving the whole thing a real amateur feel as if it was a first project by students in a film school.

The premise is an evil box which is passed on through history, with a warning not to open it, while bad guys try to get possession of the box or get someone to open it. Sound familiar? Though this box looks more like a coal scuttle than anything with a sinister back story.

The acting didn't get much better passed the opening scene; it was as if the actors were waiting to deliver their lines rather than listening and being immersed in the scene. It all seemed very superficial. The pace was slow and the plot jumped around to the point of confusion in places.

There were lots of horror movie clichés. Waking up from a nightmare that also turns out to be a nightmare. Men in dodgy looking masks and gowns. People having the same dreams. Patients with mental health issues. Finding video camera footage. Poor and comic looking special effects that amused more than frightened. It even had the "shadowy looking guy across the road who disappears after a tram goes by" cliché.

The big reveal at the end didn't really reveal anything about the "shadowy conspiracy against humanity that stretches across five centuries" in the synopsis. Maybe it went over my head. Or maybe I'd just stopped paying too much attention by that point.

I did watch the whole movie and admit that I wasn't bored but maybe this one falls into the "so bad it's good" category. Afterwards I just kind of wished I'd watched Hellraiser again instead.