Horror Movie Review: Here Comes Hell (2019)

Here Comes Hell is a horror comedy directed by Jack McHenry who co-wrote it with Alice Sidgwick. It stars Tom Bailey, Jessica Webber and Margaret Clunie. A fun romp of a movie, Here Comes Hell is a loving tribute to the classic horror of William Castle and gore-fests like Evil Dead.

Such a tribute to a master of atmosphere means Here Comes Hell has to begin with a host addressing the audience directly. The schlocky announcement that what we’re about to witness is not for the faint of heart. It’s tongue in cheek but nails what it is going for. Especially when the curtain rises and the movie begins.

Shot entirely in black and white, Here Comes Hell is designed to look like a very early horror movie. Something that McHenry nails thanks to the effort put into the gimmick. It’s hard to not to smile at the static exterior shots and rear projections for when characters are driving their cars.

Talking of which…

A rich young man named Freddie (Timothy Renouf) is taking his new girlfriend, Elizabeth (Jessica Webber) to meet his friends at a mansion. She is nervous because she feels out of place with the rich being a solicitor’s secretary.

At the mansion, the sharpened meanness of socialite Christine (Margaret Clunie) gets to Elizabeth but George (Tom Bailey), an oil tycoon from Texas and their host (Jasper Britton) put her at ease.

After a lot of reconnecting and bickering, to liven things up the idea of conducting a séance comes up. Of course this goes horribly wrong resulting in all manner of demonic entities being unleashed. The fun and games are over, now it’s a fight for survival.

A strong cast, ones more then happy to play up to the silliness of it all, helps make Here Comes Hell a better movie. The small number of characters are allowed to breathe and the actors certainly relish the madness.

Playing out as more of parody, Here Comes Hell works hard to make its low budget seem insignificant but it’s hard to ignore it when it comes to gore. It’s puzzling because there are times where the effects look great. Such as the walking possessed corpse with most of its head missing and the worms in the eyes scene. Then we get disappointing possession makeup that amounts to nothing but some obvious fake blood and contact lenses. It can be a bit jarring but for the most part, the effects are decent.

Kept short, Here Comes Hell doesn’t overstay its welcome. That’s a good thing seeing as the shtick begins to get tiresome near the end.