White Pearl Classics / daredo (Soul Food)
From a screening during the Cannes Film Festival to Index: That was the path the supernatural rape revenge horror Hellgate had to travel . Because a year after its premiere at the renowned film festival, the film was released on video cassette in Germany — and was promptly indexed. 25 years later the indexing was finally lifted, but it took another five years before «Hellgate» got a home cinema remake.
The strictly limited 2-disc media book with DVD and Blu-ray of the film, which was released at the end of 2020, is now only available second-hand. And even if the prices for it aren’t too high (by the way, the rental company AVV will soon be releasing a few more Mediabook versions), it’s good news for all those who are curious that «Hellgate» has now received another new edition — as an affordable standard edition in regular quantities, optionally as Blu-ray or DVD.
» «Hellgate» at Amazon *
For the sake of fairness, we have to state that it’s no coincidence that «Hellgate» is notorious among horror fans . With a score of 3.6/10 on the IMDb and tons of negative reviews that Hellgate received upon its initial release, the film clearly falls into the allure trash category. Even if there are also ardent defenders of the film.
This is «Hellgate»
1957 in the sleepy US town of Hellgate: The young waitress Josie ( Abigail Wolcott ) is raped by a rocker gang. Josie’s father ( Carel Trichardt ) is then driven by a desire for revenge to become an ax murderer. 1989: Matt ( Ron Palillo ) and his friends take a vacation and jet through the middle of nowhere in America. During the journey, they are seduced by a mysterious woman — and attacked by a horribly disfigured man. Strange events, all held together by cruel, dark forces…
«Hellgate» director and effects specialist William A. Levey worked with his team on horror classics like «Hellraiser», which should be reason enough for some genre fans to take a cautious look. Because even in «Hellgate» there is no skimping on juicy bloody effects. The fact that the reviews of the film mostly use negative superlatives and comparisons with films like “ Troll ” is excellent bait for some, but a good reason for others to look around for other film fodder. There’s enough choice in the horror genre…
«Hellraiser 1 — 3» is finally back in full in home cinemas — but the question is: for how long?
*The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.
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