What if the underworld was real and you could cross into another realm? Director / co-writer D.J. Remark’s debut film, The Hellgate explores this idea. Two horror / heavy metal loving YouTube influencers, Stacy (Summer Brunelle) and Lillian (Madison Grace) are struggling to get subscribers on their spooky channel, Breakdowns and Body Bags. One night they take a drunken shortcut through a graveyard and Lillian snaps a picture of Stacy on a whim. When they look at it later, they have captured an image of an actual ghost. This snap goes viral, and they finally get the traction they wanted for their channel.
A newcomer, Brady (Jas Abramowitz) arrives to speak to the caretaker of the cemetery, Grant Morrison (Paul Bridges Thompson ). He tells Grant that he’s working for the managers of the property, but he tells other people that he’s a paranormal investigator. When he stumbles across Grant’s attempts to make contact with his deceased wife in the afterlife, Brady offers to assist.
Stacy and Lillian return to the cemetery hoping to see the ghost again. They bring enough spectral detection gear that the Ghostbusters would be impressed. But they aren’t able to use any of it because Grant catches them and throws them out for trespassing.
After interfering with the supernatural, they inspire unwanted attention from dark forces. It’s the price of fame on the internet. Lillian begins to have strange visions and dreams. She seems to be more attuned to the paranormal, but Stacy thinks she’s losing her mind. This causes intense friction between the two.
“… Lillian snaps a pic in the graveyard, accidentally capturing the image of a ghost. …”
Brady approaches Stacy offering to help them explore what they’ve learned. They return to the graveyard with a skeptic podcaster named Derek (Jaron Wallac) who usually debunks paranormal reports. They are trying to communicate with the original ghost when they are abducted.
A dark ritual is happening in a cavern beneath the cemetery, thinning the barrier between our world and the afterlife. Stacy, Lillian, and Derek are pulled into the middle of it, setting the stage for a supernatural denouement.
The notion of a portal to Hell is familiar. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is set in a town that sits atop an active “hellmouth.” Lovecraft spoke of doors to darker realms. Dante wrote of the “inferno” gate. John Milton describes Hell’s gates as having triple layers of brass, iron, and adamantine rock. The Hellgate updates the concept, punctuated by snippets of high energy heavy metal.
The filmmakers describe how they shot The Hellgate: “Produced on a budget of $76,000 and shot over 16 days. We built a cave set in a warehouse in Riverside, FL as there are no real cavernous regions in the state (or ones we could legally film in). All practical effects. We’re lovers of horror and heavy metal. This movie is our love letter to the genre.”
Brunelle and Grace carry the film in the lead roles, but the whole cast delivers authentically. Solid camera work and lighting set a dark tone for the creepy events, and Remark keeps up a lively pace. The results achieved on a micro-budget are fantastic. The film is polished and professional, with credible effects, all of which is particularly impressive for a first feature. Horror, heavy metal, and meddling influencers come together for one hell of a spooky good time.
Learn more at the official The Hellgate website.
"…Horror, heavy metal music, and meddling influencers come together for one hell of a spooky good time."
