HELL Hole is set in the Serbian wilderness where an American-led fracking crew find themselves at odds with government-assigned environmental advisors watching their every move.
New from the self-taught filmmaking Adams family, the people behind unfussy DIY gems such as Hellbender and Where The Devil Roams, this is a wonderfully blood-soaked creature feature with tentacles and exploding body parts aplenty.
If films such as Alien, The Thing, and Slither are your bag, then you will find lots to keep you salivating here. Filmed in Serbia, it is the first film shot on location from the Adams Family, the artistic collaboration between Toby Poser, John Adams, and daughters Lulu and Zelda Adams.
When the American company at the heart of this gruesome tale get approval to drill in Balkan backwaters, their workers uncover a dormant parasitic monster entombed deep in the frozen rock, living in the body of a centuries old French man. Now awakened from its freeloading slumber, it tears through the mining facility in search of the perfect host.
It’s hard not to be moved by the Adams Family’s punk rock approach to filmmaking, even if it doesn’t always work. Hell Hole, in which Toby Poser and John Adams play the lead roles, is far from perfect. Well written, poorly edited, and with questionable performances throughout, it still has plenty going for it and at times really shines.
There’s a real natural and laidback feel to this film, as there is with their previous work, and their passion for independent filmmaking is evident throughout.
A homage to the great creature features of yore where alien parasitic creatures take up residency in not so smart bags of bones and blood, it comes with a raucous sludge metal soundtrack and its tongue placed firmly in cheek.
Now streaming over on Shudder, this is an entertainingly slimy and disgusting romp that proves to be the Adams’ bloodiest work to date.
It’s fracking great!
(4/5)
