Hellgate

Everyone's a critic, isn't that what they say, Opinions in life are like that of a certain part of the body, we know we all have. Anyway when it comes to movies like "Hellgate" a low budget horror movie, we take one look at the cover and we find ourselves sucked in or suckered out, depending on your point of view.

Now low budget films fan's truly worth their salt, will have come into contact sometime in their cinematic life with the works of filmmakers like William Girdler[Day of The Animals, The Manitou] William Sachs[The Incredible Melting Man, Galaxina] or indeed the director of this South African lensed little gem[Oops did i give away my opinion on this movie so early] The Director's output will never send out shockwaves, although he did make "Blackenstein" and "Monaco Forever" my point is, everything the aforementioned directors have made has fallen into the category of, should i use the word exploitation, why not.

Good movies, Bad movies, it's all the same. We still feel the need to watch them, it begins with the artwork on the cover first remember. So anyway, "Hellgate" itself, it's been a long time since i've seen it, but my memories are still vivid. The notion that it was made in South Africa, is never apparent, although if you've watched many a movie made from there, you'll know the faces and not necessarily the names.

What does the movie have going in it's favour, yes it's does have it's faults, but i'm bot going to dwell on them. The Plus Points are, a snappy script, brought to life by the talents of a very droll Ron Palillo, yes i know that Abigail Wolcott looks hot, and that her acting skills weren't exactly up their with the likes of Meryl Streep, but hey that was not the reason she was hired for the movie.

The Director William Sachs, who if i may, makes a cameo appearance as a severed head in a fridge, gives the movie a competent look, and finally the soundtrack, if like me you like those golden oldies, the song that permeates throughout the movie, as well as playing out through the end credits is truly a gem, if inly i could remember the band who sings it.

Anyway, for those of you out there, who might not have seen "Hellgate" if ever you wondered, was it worth a look, is it any good, to that i say.

Hellgate a good film? Hell yes!

A motorcycle gang kidnaps a young woman, Josie, from a diner and brutally kills her. Many years later, the girl's father finds a magic crystal that can bring the life back to dead objects. He uses it to re-animate his daughter.

This film has a low rating and has generally been forgotten. And yeah, I can see why. It is no masterpiece and is definitely not a horror gem. I like the reanimation aspect, and the 1950s bit... and we have zombies, ax murders, and more...

If nothing else, the film is good for the very, very corny humor and the slow motion shot of a topless woman getting blown through a window by a shotgun blast. That is an incredible stunt, and by going in slow motion it is even more spectacular.

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.

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.