Director: William A. Levey
Starring: Ron Palillo, Abigail Wolcott, Carel Trichardt, Petrea Curran, Evan J. Klisser and Joanne Warde.
Certificate: 18
Running Time: 91 minutes
Legends abound of The Hellgate Hitchhiker. So the story goes, a beautiful young woman was once brutally defiled and murdered by a biker gang. Now, returned from the dead, she wanders the roadside luring unsuspecting motorists to their doom… Refusing to heed the warnings of locals, a group of college friends set out on a cross-country road trip looking for fun and frolics. But they get much more than they bargained for when they wind up in the abandoned mining town of Hellgate and hemmed in by hordes of the undead!
I have to admit to knowing very little about Arrow Video’s latest cult favourite given the remastered treatment. A quick look at IMDb and it soon becomes apparent HELLGATE may well not be for human consumption. A current score on their rating scale has it at 2.8 out of ten, which sent a shiver down my spine and not because of the striking cover art. What could the reason be that this little shocker sits close to the same dreck as in the infamous TROLL 2 or the entire back catalogue of Uwe Boll? It soon became clear…
While some laughable lines, atrocious acting and cringeworthy special-effects bring HELLGATE down a few notches, there is little doubt the film has an effective eerie atmosphere. An air of menace that holds throughout an urban legend that turns all too real for the familiar group of horny teenagers. In addition, a number of subtle camera angles, along with the set and location suggest something stronger could have been captured had those in front of the camera bothered their arse. It becomes a struggle to comprehend how director Levey didn’t go all David O. Russell on his young cast. Professional they appear not!
HELLGATE is awful. It truly is one of the worst films I’ve not only entered into my beloved blu-ray player, but witnessed during all of my 34 years. It’s obviously one of those rare titles that has a fan base only because it’s so ball-crushingly bad, embarrassingly watched with a collection of fellow genre friends as not an enjoyable thrill ride but a snigger-inducing scare-fest (without the scares I may ad). It has a campiness akin to the likes of classic Hammer horrors or the films of Pete Walker, yet lacking any of the same skill in it’s execution. Despite some saucy stunners on show, its seduction comes only from the unintentional comedy that is aided by some woeful editing. Tittering at tits is all we’re left with. Lovely tits they are though.
The Film [usr=1]
Special Features:
- Limited Edition Blu-ray [1000 Copies]
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the main feature
- Road to Perdition, B-Movie Style: An extensive interview with Hellgate director William A. Levey
- Alien Invasion, Blaxploitation and Ghost-Busting Mayhem: Scholar, Filmmaker and fan Howard S. Berger reflects on the intriguing film career of William A. Levey
- Video Nasty: Kenneth Hall, writer of the Puppet Master series, speaks about the direct-to-video horror boom that allowed Hellgate to become a classic of the cassette rental era
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
- Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Lee Gambin, illustrated with original artwork and stills
Complete Package [usr=4]
HELLGATE is released on limited edition blu-ray via Arrow Films from the 3rd February
