Hell House

I'm sure Hell House was intended by the deeply religious people who appear in it as a means of saving "the lost". Instead, what it becomes is a shocking and horrifying look at religious extremism (yes, Islam is not the only religion burdened by extremists).

The one image that kept flashing through my head was of the low-budget cult classic "Faces of Death", in which a phony "Doctor of Death" presents a series of scenes (some authentic, some obviously fake)depicting various ways living things can die, including animal attacks, footage of autopsies, etc. Hell House has the exact same low-budget, creepy feel that Faces of Death had for me.

The most frightening thing is that the participants in the actual Hell House are convinced that they are saving young people by showing them their own extreme Judeo-Christian version of reality: girls who undergo abortions will go to hell, etc. What they are really doing is unnecessarily exposing young people to horrible graphic violence.

The way the people speak to each other is disturbing as well: everything is about "The Church"... the whole thing reeks of brainwashing. The discussions going on during the brainstorming session about what to do in the Hell House this year, as well as those going on during the casting reminded me of the films Bin Laden and his toadies send in to Al Jazeera TV talking about killing the infidels. The message is a little different, but the behavior and absolute mindless devotion to the "cause" is absolutely the same.

But the most horrifying and disgusting part for me was the footage from the "Christian school", where the teacher was talking about how they teach everything from the "Christian viewpoint", while the camera panned over a pile of textbooks with titles like "Spanish for Christian schools" and such. Reality and fact know no religion.

I see little difference between Muslim extremism and Christian extremism, with the exception that Muslim extremists engage in suicide missions. In both cases, the message is "Our way is the only way and if you don't follow it, you are doomed".

Jesus taught acceptance and love for fellow creatures. However, the people who participated in Hell House missed the point and are examples of the extreme right of Christianity, just as Bin Laden and the Taliban are representative of the extreme right of Islam. Unfortunately, too many people lacking direction in their life choose these paths that inevitably lead to their complete brainwashing and, effectively, losing sight of the real and usually very helpful teachings of their prophets and/or messiahs.

To quickly summarize what I believe is the 'message' one may get from viewing this film: All you need to do is change the geographical location and name of the 'God' and you've got a typical fundamentalist Madras school in the Middle East. What's on display here is a sad and horrific waste of young human minds.

To witness, in some awe, where impressionable minds can be lead by twisted religious quacks makes this film most definitely worth seeing -- and can admirably serve as a 'wake up call' for modern civilization; do you know where your children are? Be afraid.

H.U.

The more I think about the way this movie was put together, the more interesting I find it to be. The pastor of a fairly large church allows a secular film crew to wander in and out of meetings, services and other events with a camera and apparently with no restrictions. The fact he allowed this is pretty amazing to begin with. Poor lighting, mediocre equipment and an editing process that is not under the control of the church could have easily resulted in a product could have been a disaster for the pastor and the church. The director sorts through what must have been hundreds of hours of filming to select what would be in the final movie and this documentary is the result. There is no opportunity for the church to go back and explain or clarify things that were said by any of the people that were filmed, including teenagers. You have to admire the pastor's courage. You also have to admire the fact that the director didn't use any apparent twists to push for a perspective, either for or against the church. This is not the norm in todays media.

The desired message of Hell House is pretty simple, yet easily distorted. "There are many traps to get us off the track for what God wants to do for us in our lives. It doesn't matter what we have done - drugs, violence, sexual sin, abortion, or even occult worship and the consequences from those things. He still loves us and is ready to forgive us. Eternity is beyond our comprehension, but we need to consider all of the information and make a decision on where we want to spend eternity. It's up to us. This church is just trying to use an unusual, yet contemporary method of communicating some of that information that we need to consider, so we can make an informed decision."

Hell House director George Ratliff doesn't have to try hard to show the bizarre side of the Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas and their annual Halloween sideshow. Rather than any reasoned attempt to invite converts to Christianity, this is old style 'fire and brimstone' scare tactics straight out of the Old Testament and reminded me of a modern day Chick tract. The topics are somewhat predictable, ranging from abortion, homosexuality and suicide right through to the alleged evils of Harry Potter and role playing games. The horror show is complete with high pressure sales tactics at the end to convert and accept Jesus. Disturbingly, the emotional intensity of the show is quite effective, especially on the younger teenagers in the audience who appear somewhat shell shocked as they are given a last chance to repent.

Pastor Jim Hennesy opens the documentary and is probably the most disturbing character shown, with his authoritarian nature and expressionless stare. His church group is clearly a cult, complete with hysterical followers weeping, swaying in trances and speaking in tongues. Every single character that comes onto the screen has a downbeat story, from the single father struggling with four children to assorted rape victims and even an amateur wrestler.

In parts, the documentary becomes unintentionally hilarious, with a six sided 'pentagram' (actually the Jewish Star of David), a DJ who can't remember the name of the date rape drug he is supposed to be warning people about and a Christian teenager showing an inexplicable fascination in playing an imagined 'victim' of the morning after pill.

Overall Hell House is more an illuminating insight into the bizarre beliefs of this Pentecostal church than any cutting edge social commentary, but somehow it works. Ratliff's direction is neutral, and he merely observes the goings on rather than actively staking out a position. With a cast of characters this odd, nothing else is needed. The only signs of independent thought in the film was a small group of irate teens who gave one of the pastors their direct opinion on the Hell House.

A interesting footnote only mentioned briefly in the documentary. With 12,000 visitors at $7 a head, plus a concession stand, and all with volunteer labor. I guess what the Trinity Church doesn't make in converted souls, they reap in cash.

7/10

A previous review for this film infers that the documentary makers lose respect for their subjects. After seeing the documentary, I couldn't come to the same conclusion. These people with all their good intentions bring ridicule on themselves. Bringing hell back into religion and trivialising disturbing scenarios with gory reenactments can breed the sort of hatred towards margianlised people that seems the antithesis of a Christian message. While sophisticated film festival audiences might be in fits of laughter at the planning and execution of hell house, there is a serious undercurrent. The makers should be congratulated for their subtle approach in dealing with the personal problems of the protagonists and the way such a seeming laughable freak show can 'convert' people to this form of religious belief.

If Hell house is preaching to the converted, the actual subjects of the documentary are definitely NOT preaching to the converted. They are preaching to those lacking direction or disillusioned with their life. As the ending shows, the scenes which seem ridiculous to us, lead some people to convert to the close-knit web of this Christian group. To me, this is a pretty frightening scenario. What is the community doing wrong that would make young people so susceptible to such an outdated morality? I just hope that this documentary will be shown more widely, particularly to younger people within the context of discussing the issues the documentary raises. And for most of us who will not subscribe to the often demented views espoused by some of the subjects of the doco - it's one of the most amusing and entertaining documentaries around.