Father Augustus (Ryan LaPlante) is the priest who really lives what he preaches - in terms of turn the other cheek, in terms of not giving in to the temptation of repaying violence with violence, in terms of forgiving those who have done him wrong ... but then he's first hand witness to a family (Alysa King, Noel LaPlante, Roberta Downey jr, Clyde Taurus) being mutilated, raped and slaughtered by a family of degenerates (Michael Rawley, Shane Patrick McClurg, Rachel Ann Little, Reece Presley) ... and he could have prevented it all when the head of the family, Dokes (Rawley), handed him a gun to shoot him dead, knowing a priest would never commit such a sin - and Father Augustus didn't. But after the fact, he's overcome by guilt, so much so that instead of returning to the fold of the church, he goes to a gunshop, buys a gun, and starts shooting and killing people who he thinks have sinned, basing his kill-list very loosely on the bible, and calling his gun "The Lord". Eventually, he gets the only survivor of above massacre, Amy (Alysa King), who has lost the use of her legs in the ordeal, out of the hospital and into his care, and the two become a very odd romantic couple. But eventually, Father Augustus decides to go against the family that has slaughtered Amy's folks ...

Thing is, that clan of degenerates are not likely to just have vengeance wielded upon them, and with Amy being his lover, Father Augustus has become more vulnerable a target (even if she saves his ass more than once) ... but he has the element of surprise on his side - after all, who'd suspect a priest to draw a gun and use it?

What Holy Hell is not is the final word in blasphemous filmmaking - sure, it's offensive in its approach to religion and such, plus its frequent use of strong language and sexual allusions in connection with religious imagery might not be liked by all - but then again it does ask an interesting, and entirely un-offensive, question, how far can you go "turning the other cheek" ... and of course, the answer the film gives is based on an extreme and highly unlikely example - but then again, this movie is not a religious discussion but first of all entertainment (plus, what's sometimes going on with the religious right, they are way less restrained regarding "turning the other cheek" than this movie is I'm afraid to say).

Now this is a good segue to what Holy Hell actually is ... and that's pure entertainment of the party-movie kind. The movie doesn't really take itself seriously and doesn't ask the audience to do so either, instead it's full off fun gore effects, over-the-top violence, intentionally stilted dialogue, a consciously contrived narrative and whatnot. Seriously, don't take this film too seriously and you'll have a good laugh (laughing with the movie rather than at it that is), and should you have a brew or two with this one, it certainly won't hurt ...

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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