Presented by Scream Queen Debbie Rochon (Return to Nuke ‘Em High, Tromeo and Juliet), Hell Town is a unique slasher soap opera premiering on the fictional “Twisted Classic Television.” The horror hostess explains that seasons one and three of Hell Town were lost in a studio fire, however episodes 7-9 of season two have been literally “dug up.” The 90 minutes that follow play out like an over the top cheesy melodrama surrounding small town high school teens and a bloody massacre.

The introduction by Debbie Rochon was clever and wittily morbid, making me wish she wasn’t leaving the screen. However, she also made me wonder what exactly I was about to get into. Hell Town immediately reminded me of a twisted lovechild of Children’s Hospital (which, is already pretty twisted) and Masterpiece Theatre. The actors all portray self-absorbed stereotypes- popular girl, mega bitch, super jock, gothic girl, etc.- and go above and beyond to ensure that the acting is on the level of an overly dramatic telenovela. While the characters are dealing with love, obsession, betrayal, sexual identity issues and finding dates to the prom, the Letter Jacket Killer begins to pick off every guy who has slept with the popular girl, Trish Gable (Krysten Day). While it would have been easy for the horror/slasher aspect to get lost in the absurd comedy-drama, the kills are too creative and gory to let that happen. I was pleasantly surprised to see death by donuts and bloodshed at a glory hole.

The acting was so outrageously bad, but it totally works because that’s how the writers and directors, Steve Balderson and Elizabeth Spear, intended it to be. While I enjoyed all of the performances, I have to specifically mention actresses Krysten Day and Amanda Deibert for really carrying their roles well. Krysten Day’s Trish is the beautiful blonde popular girl who reminds me of Marcia Brady on Prozac. Despite her numerous lovers getting slaughtered, she continues to smile while narrowing down her potential prom dates. She also manages to frequently taunt the constantly angry Chanel Manly, played by Amanda Deibert. Trish and Chanel have quite a few interactions throughout the film, each one funnier than the last.

Overall, Hell Town was quite an enjoyable watch, just be prepared for plenty of gore and laughs. It made me wish that it was an actual series or continual webisodes because I wanted to see more. If you’d like to check Hell Town out for yourself, it is now available on iTunes, Cable VOD and Digital HD from Gravitas Ventures.

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.