Was drawn into seeing 'Gehenna: Where Death Lives' with a cool poster/cover, a premise that does compel one to watch and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.
Unfortunately, it is however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films are present here, that to me was watchable but disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. As a film it's mediocre, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. Having said it was also not a bad film, it is among my better recent low-budget viewings.
Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky. Most of the acting is not good but Doug Jones does create an unnerving presence.
'Gehenna: Where Death Lives' is generally not a bad film visually, it's decently shot and the effects were above mediocre (the best ones reasonable). The start intrigues and there are some creepy moments early on that aren't too predictable, shame the rest of the film completely goes downhill and doesn't recover until the unexpected and shocking conclusion.
Unfortunately, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained and ridiculous in the middle act where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary before the conclusion. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.
Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning most of the acting which is wooden generally and Lance Henriksen looks disinterested.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about, never recovering. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both underwhelming. Its structure is at times aimless and confused, not incoherent as such but clarity was not a strong suit here
There are a good deal of underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. The thriller elements generally don't thrill or intrigue, they are dreary and predictable and hurt by the tameness and lack of suspense. Likewise with the mystery elements.
There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, completely failing to show any sense of horror and resorting to cheap typical horror tropes and turns that are neither interesting, believable or surprising. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden, inexperience seems to be all over the film, and the music doesn't really fit. There is not an awful lot of creativity or much shocking.
Overall, watchable but doesn't have enough to warrant repeat viewings. 5/10 Bethany Cox
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