Hell House (documentary)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C Film: C+
As media has become more manipulative and
manipulating, the concept of what a documentary is has been stretched all over
the place, then debased by the all-time low point of what we currently suffer
through known as “reality TV”. It is
not to say that the concept of the documentary has not been challenged before,
but tearing the bottom out is a slap in the face to a film form that never gets
enough credit to begin with.
In the case of George Ratliff’s Hell House (2001),
the director claims his pride in making a documentary that is not judgmental or
political. However, that is a false
belief, since it is absolutely impossible!
As Leni Riefenstahl’s pro-Nazi classic Triumph Of The Will (1935)
proves, as did all the silent documentaries before it, that editing is as much
a part of the propaganda as sound and if a narrator participates or not.
Now the premise of the film is that Trinity Church
in Texas has come up with a sick twist on the idea of going to a haunted house
for fun on Halloween, by taking out Dracula and Frankenstein, and replacing
them with suicidal homosexuals, AIDS victims who get what they are asking for,
drunk driving killers, first-time rave-partygoers who overdose on whatever they
blindly consume on the new drug front, women who die from abortions, and other
items that are at least R-rated material.
They do not care if they aim these at kids.
Now those with a Left-of-center mind would argue
that extremists on the Right think these kids should be scared to death or that
those who “have not chosen” need to find Jesus (their narrow version) before
its too late for their “souls” (read our ulterior motives). That extreme Right has cause to celebrate,
if that Left is correct. Ratliff
pretends he is not showing this extreme, but even he admits to a “religious
revival” that may be disturbingly misguided, or inspired by artificial means.
On the other hand, there are those on the Left who
insufficiently think they can just leave things up in the air and everything
will be all right. Unfortunately, it is
that passive, highly non-participatory attitude in much progressive that makes
the original Hell House a hit, then goes on to inspire hundreds of imitators
worldwide. It is that same attitude for
which Ratliff literally makes his film under, just watch and shut-up.
Furthermore, as he films these people building and
scripting the latest Hell House season, these people come across in unexpected
ways. Some seem well intentioned, but
not all are, no matter how they hide it in front of the camera. It too often makes these people look stupid,
or brainwashed, or idiotic. Worse, do
most of these people after the fact when they see the final cut of the film
realize this?
The result of the film is a repetitious piece, that
actually has two celebrated uglinesses going on at once: one being the actual
Hell House itself, and the other being the film that turns every movie house it
plays into a counter “hell house” for independent film-going hipsters to laugh
at the humiliated people on the screen.
Ratliff tries to cloak himself in the sheep’s clothing of “cinema
verite”, but he is no better than those on the screen, proving two wrongs do not
make a right. A better filmmaker would
have had the balls to jump in and question what was wrong, but that would have
defeated a devious moneymaking gimmick.
The full-screen image comes from 16mm stock, both
color and black & white. It
sometimes looks older than it should, but this is far better than if it had
been shot on tape. Just compare to the taped short “The Devil Made Me Do It”
that got this work greenlighted in the first place in the supplement. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is sufficient,
while the Kadane Brothers music is nothing to write home about.
Other extras include the actually-funny Trinity
Awards clip where a girl thanks the cast who raped her and said she had much
fun, though she does not exactly “mean it like that”, proving my exploitation
point. There are also the tired,
deleted “demon” scenes, the original theatrical trailer, and the National
Public Radio broadcast of an audio clip from the film.
Ratliff essentially tries to pull-off an
intellectual Blair Witch Project, even fooling the San Francisco
International Film Festival into giving him a “Golden Gate” award. Some will still watch this for the joke that
it is, while others might agree with its hidden lazy Left point of view, but
the film is average at best. The fact
that these people let him in with the camera is something else, though.
The saddest part is that a truly artistic
opportunity was missed here. The fact
is that we are in a time in this country where political extremists are
obscenely blatant and rabid in ruining other people’s lives and not minding
their own business. They cannot leave
anything alone or at peace, even a fun time for kids like Halloween, because
they are such all-time losers. It is
that regressive attitude that is ruining is country and Hell House the
movie is just as sinister as its subject, because it shows the same disregard
for the individual as those on camera.
We’ll see how long Ratliff’s career lasts. Maybe he can direct “Blair Witch 3”………. Ooops! Forget I said that!
- Nicholas
Sheffo
