IIn This Is Spinal Tap, one of the hits from the rock band of the same name is called Hell Hole. The song goes, “It’s better / In a hell hole / You know where you stand / In a hell hole.” That statement perfectly applies to this endearing low-budget film from the Adamses, a family that taught themselves filmmaking. It hits all the notes required for this type of film, and does so to mostly satisfying effect.
The horror subgenre described here is the rampage of the uncanny beast: think HP Lovecraft, The Thing or The Blob. These critters usually come from above or below, flying in from outer space or emerging from a long nap beneath the Earth’s surface. In this case, it’s the slumber party option, as environmentalists and a crew from US-run fracking companies stumble upon a strange octopus-like parasite while drilling in a remote part of Serbia. Soon, the octopus-like baby is literally creeping into their inner circles.
The gang of potential victims includes John, played by co-writer and director John Adams, who delivers a nice line as a tough cynic, co-writer and director Toby Poser as Aunt Em, who also delivers a nice line as a tough cynic, and Maximum Portman as Em’s nephew, who cooks tagine. The Serbian setting is a colorful accent, with drone shots of bombed-out communist-era architecture suggesting shells and power structures befitting the parasitic creature intent on infesting and taking up residence in its host.
The subtext shouldn’t be overemphasized, though; this isn’t about being intellectual cinematography, but rather about being an entertaining monster movie, which it largely succeeds at. With a mix of computer special effects and palpably sugary gore, Hell Hole is on the level of a modest TV show, but it feels like it’s made on a tenth of the budget, which helps make the film endearing. A film made for love isn’t enough on its own to get a passing grade, but when the result is a committed piece of indie genre work with a suitably silly sense of the macabre, this film serves its purpose.
