Go To Hell is the first short-film from Dean of the Dead (a horror hot sauce company no less) combining a modest budget with a strong cast and some great filming locations we have quite the little frightful festival entry in the making.
The story revolves around a man who has been sent to hell after his wife pushed him down the stairs. Whilst residing in hell he seeks revenge by doing a deal with an underworld entity who can cast reverse seances that can send a demon topside to exact that revenge, with some quite humorous consequences.
What Go To Hell does well straight from the off is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously but at the same time has a mystique and intrigue around our central character that never entirely gets clarified as the credits roll.
Our focal character dressed up like he’s just been plucked from a Shaun of the Dead convention drives the story with an awkward persona as he greets the guests of hell. With lovely sweeping camera actions and some great close-up shots not to mention some wonderful make-up and costuming Go To Hell looks like a much more polished feature than I was expecting, especially as a debut horror short from Dean (of the dead, remember?) who serves as writer, director and every other job in-between on this flick.
Utilising some beautiful sets and scenery which UK haunt fans will instantly recognise the short film plays into its more light-hearted tones but also has these moments of real old school 80s Creep Show style horror where it’s very tongue-in-cheek but the horror roots are perfectly intertwined with the jokes that go someway towards easing the darker tones of the film.
I rather enjoy horrors that lean into the comedic aspect of things more, it allows the audience a false sense of security before the real terror kicks in and I love that bounce between good and evil, light and dark and it really works quite well here in Go To Hell.
Now there’s a reason our main character has been sent to hell despite being the one who was murdered and despite it’s rather lengthy (for a short) runtime of 27 minutes we don’t seem to get the answers we’re looking for in regards to this despite hints from other characters as to what he may or may not have done.
We know he’s a children’s photographer and even during his first introduction into hell the administrator takes a look at him and knows exactly what he’s done but the mystery is kept throughout for us all to guess as to his crimes and if my own suspicions are correct then he deserved every inch of that drill at the beginning of the film (you’ll see what I mean when you check it out for yourself).
His wife certainly had a good idea as to his extra curricular activities seeing as though she was the one who pushed him down the stairs in the first place and as the film progresses it does feel as though they’re a match made in manipulative hell.
With some strong visuals Go To Hell is a cut above the rest when it comes to short horror flicks and whilst some scenes feel a little weak in their delivery of driving the story the main gist is there with a rather comedic pay-off as the film draws to a swift conclusion.
Hats off to all behind the scenes who worked on this one, you’ve done a cracking job and as a bloke from Stoke, I absolutely loved the Lemmy shout-outs that are weaved into the script throughout.
Our Rating
Summary
A great little debut short from Dean of the Dead as Go To Hell throws us back to the days of tongue-in-cheek horror where one minute you’re smiling before that smile is very quickly taken away. Despite a few narrative flaws it’s a solid effort on a shoestring budget with some wonderful costumes, make-up and some great looking visuals.
