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The Burning Hell
USA 1974
produced by Ron Ormond, June Ormond (= June Carr) for The Ormond Organization
directed by Ron Ormond
starring Estus W. Pirkle, Jimmy Robbins, Tim Ormond, Robert G. Lee, Jack Hyles, Bob Gray, Terence hendricks, Don Green, Carl Lackey, Vaughn Denton, Mike Fine, Earlo Farley, Billy Kent, Buddy Mullinax, Maurice Banks, Viola Walden, Rita Faye, Eddie King, Jim Reese, Edd Livingston, Chuck Howard, Tim Green, Walter Hare, Tommy Crider, Ed Gregory, Greg Pirkle, W.H.F. Evans, Timothy Hottel, Ralph Sexton, Edgar Paschall, James Gregory, Conred Pirkle, Arzone Burns, Curtis Barbery, Burke Day, Ricky Cowart, Tim Kent, Randy Bridges, Bob Sensat, Benny Hall, Jonny Beebe, Earl Davis, W.K. Metters, James Hood, Ann Pirkle, Gray Allison
story by Estus W. Pirkle, screenplay by Ron Ormond, special makeup effects by June Ormond (= June Carr)
Ron Ormond's religious features, Moses, Cain and Abel
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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Basically, with this movie, real life narrow-minded preacher Estus W.
Pirkle wants to concinve us that hell really exists - and after recounting
a bible story where some enemies of Moses (Don Green) are sucked into hell
rather mercilessly, he starts elaborating on a story that happened in his
own life, when two bikers came by to ... convince him of their new age
interpretation of Jesus it seems like. Pirkle immediately senses the two
are evil after they refuse to hear today's sermon he was just about to
give in his church (which is rather mean for a man of God), and wouldn't
you know it, soon afterwards, one of the bikers dies in a motorbike crash.
The other comes running to father Pirkle, but what does Pirkle do rather
than console the man - he just confirms that his deceased friend is indeed
burning in hell and will for all eternity (again, the good father shows a
mean streak here). He then recounts several more biblical stories, putting
special emphasis on the one about the poor man (Terence Hendricks) going
to heaven, while the rich man (Jimmy Robinson) despite all his
contributions to the church (but it wasn't a Christian church) going to
hell, then trying to keep his associates out of hell fearing retaliation. At
one point, the surviving biker breaks out into tears and repents, and for
that alone, father Pirkle promises him a place in heaven. If
you haven't guessed, this is of course a Christian propaganda flick, but
rest assured, whoever hasn't believed in God and Jesus and Hell and the
Devil before will not do so after this film (in fact, I presume quite a
few Christians will at least for a moment question their beliefs).
Basically, Estus W. Pirkle's understanding of the Bible and of the
representation of Hell therein is crude, also because it's not at all
based on the benign God and merciful Jesus of the New Testament but rather
an extreme version of the vengeful God of the Old (if you excute my
over-simplification): The whole film centers not on the good of
Christianity but rather on the bad of not being a Christian, and Ron
Ormond's past in low budget exploitation cinema of course makes focusing
on these aspects of the whole thing a lot more fun, so we are treated to
quite a bit of torture, over-the-top (if obviously underbudgeted) special
effects, and the occasional bizarre element, mixed with some rather
ridiculous costumes and makeup (best of all, Moses' fake beard and the
colouful mosaic face of the Devil) and a healthy disregard for biblical
truths. All of this does of course not add up to a good or even
acceptable piece of Christian propaganda ... but a very entertaining movie
of the so-bad-it's-good variety!
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Thanks for watching !!!
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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