Hellmouth

Stylized, surreal and thoroughly captivating. If you're looking for a scary horror movie, this isn't it. But if you are looking for something oddly charming, memorable and creepily funny that makes you ask, "Wait, what?!" with each new turn of the plot, this movie has much to offer. (Fans of Dellamorte Dellamore will probably enjoy this.) In my opinion, the only thing that could have improved this movie was a soundtrack by Danny Elfman.

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.

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 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.

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.