The team arrives on the scene to scope things out and make preliminary plans. That is until they stumble upon some locals practicing a ceremony at the mouth of an underground tunnel. A creepy old man gives the greedy team their final warning and is shewed away. The five explorers discover an underground bunker leftover from World War 2 and if that were the end of it, well, that would just be another billion in removal costs or a fight with the historical society. Unfortunately, there is something far more powerful than the wraith of greedy investors hidden within the hillside.
“…too much fun not to see through to the end.”
As the team slowly slips into insanity and the surreal and unimaginable become reality, they realize that they need only one thing; To get the hell away. The clever little script by director Katagiri, along with Nathan Long, and Brad Palmer, plays out like a lost episode of The Twilight Zone as the characters grapple with hallucinations of their own internal demons coming for them from within the darkness. There is a slick humor laced through the proceedings that allow us not only to laugh and ease tension, but it allows us to forgive the sometimes scattered bits of the plot that feel more like the doodlings in the margins.
Not perfect, not by a longshot, Gehenna: Where Death Lives has a title that makes little to no sense, but a hell of a lot going for it. This is one of those ‘what the F is going on?’ movies that make little sense as it plays out, yet is too much fun not to see through to the end. Do the greedy white devils get out of the tunnel? What cursed this sacred land causing such a terrifying legacy? You have but to watch the film to find out, then form your own opinion on the matter.
Gehenna: Where Death Lives (2018) Directed by Hiroshi Katagiri. Written By Hiroshi Katagiri, Nathan Long, Brad Palmer. Starring Doug Jones, Lance Henriksen, Patrick Gorman, Simon Phillips, Sean Sprawling, Eva Swan, Justin Gordon, and Matthew Edward Hegstrom
Gehenna: Where Death Lives gets three stars ***
Norm’s Rating System: ****(GREAT) ***(Good) **(Ok) *(Awful)
I loved it ****I personally think that there’s no other way to describe the truth, but in a virtual way, yet visible. How else will the audience see if it’s not shown or heard? Now try picturing what they were going through alone? (Self)? The end of the movie hit the punchline!!!