Hellhole (2022) Poster

(2022)

User Reviews

Review this title
86 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
7/10
When Satan comes, lilies bloom
JulianApostate7 November 2022
Jacob Boehme, a mystic from Silesia - the area where the monastery (Lubiaz) is located where the film was shot - named the expected time of "the rejuvenation of the world" the Time of the Lily. In Catholicism, lily is a symbol of innocence and Virgin Mary.... yet in the more esoteric circles, it is also a symbol of Lilith, the first wife of Adam, like Satan banished by God - in her case, to the desert. As often in the case of Christianity, meanings are bestowed upon the older pagan symbols, reversing them yet raising the question which meanings are the real ones. Here, the well descends to Hell ("Hellhole"); in the Old Testament a well is associated with the beloved of Jacob, Rachel; in Judaism a woman comparable to Virgin Mary, whose name, maybe surprisingly, maybe not will be the last words of Satanic messiah during sacrifice. Likewise, the most knowledgeable in the matters of the cult of the Prince of Darkness in this movie is a monk named after a man who set up Christianity as a religion.... Peter. He will betray the Satanic messiah in the way original Peter betrayed Christ, finally both enabling and completing the sacrifice of Satan's Chosen One, in the end so akin in his fate to Jesus Christ.

The appearance of lilies, rather untypical for cinematic stories about devil, is an example of how well versed in the occult this movie is... In this gripping story of ritual, human sacrifice, cannibalism (the original Polish title is "The Last Supper/Ostatnia wieczerza") and deceit (of his own worshippers by Satan is the last one), the Son of the Dawn (reversal again) is the only winner, even his earthly followers paying price: perhaps they never paid enough attention to the wisdom which says that "No one really knows what the World to Come shall look like". This movie says it will be the great Reversal again, high up to Sky - As above, so Below - to remind one of occult tenets, again somehow present in the Catholic Oratio Dominica prayer ("in caelo et in terra").

The knowledge this movie conveys (up to the pattern of thyrsus on the ceremonial robes of the high priest of Satan) in a way is more terrifying than multitude of slashers inhabiting only the realm of fiction.
49 out of 55 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Cool
PedroPires9030 October 2022
I liked this one. Starts as an investigative thriller and goes full horror in its third act.

It can be a bit repetitive during the set-up and development but it pays off with a cool ending, nice visuals (not perfect or Hollywood level, of course), and a bleak atmosphere. A good surprise. Some plot twists are kind of expected but there are definitely some surprises and new ideas.

It can be a bit repetitive during the set-up and development but it pays off with a cool ending, nice visuals (not perfect or Hollywood level, of course), and a bleak atmosphere. A good surprise. Some plot twists are kind of expected but there are definitely some surprises and new ideas.
36 out of 46 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
His return..
tazeemali-7920227 October 2022
I wasn't expecting much on this movie, headed straight away to IMBD and checked out the reviews. But turned out to be better then expected as the story unfolds.

Definitely worth a watch, well made and directed too.

The movie doesn't feel cheap, or degraded in anyway, definitely worth a watch.

I initially thought this was one of the netflix bottom quality movies, the onea you just skip as your looking for something better, but I was wrong. Wasn't the best I seen but was surprisingly Intresting and kept he drawn in wanting to know more as the story unfolded.

So take a chance, you might like it.
24 out of 32 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Creepy endings
Akaforest6 November 2022
This one is actually good. There is a gloomy and creepy mood all over and it haunts you, till the real horror begins. Don't underestimate this polish movie because it is not Hollywood or because some found it lame. Give it a try. The film contains spooky elements combined with slashy/ gory ones, so be warned.

The story is there, there are those ghastly (lost places) elements and the actors and the filming crew are doing a good job.

I don't know why people reduce movies like that to their limits. Our world is full of artificial people and films, let's get back to the roots where cgi wasn't everything. 10/10.
20 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Holly tomatoes, what was in that soup...!
RedKidBytes29 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
It's an edgy and confident play by the director Kowalski. Unexpectedly good. It doesn't follow the general norms and it's not predictable.

Sometimes it has irrelevant objects like a wandering eye looking around on the floor or, bodies with missing extremities, flies hatching out of a molar, and such. Also what about that terrible-smelling gory-looking soup? They all add to the climax of the mysterious monastery.

All members of the monastery look rancid, toe-nail-eating, Drury, slapped-faced, overweight ogres representing the epitome of evil.

I would suggest for readers avoid reading spoilers. It spoils the experience of watching :-)
22 out of 29 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Apt title
justahunch-7054918 November 2022
Pretty grim film with a lot of equally grim atmosphere in a monastery somewhere, I presume, in Poland since it's Polish film. I was about to say the premise is, but this has a few premises so let me just say it's starts off with a priest shot to death while about to stab to death an infant thinking it to be the anti-Christ, very reminiscent of The Omen, and he might be right. We immediately switch to 30 years later when a detective infiltrates this monastery due to the disappearance of a number of women who went in only to never come out. It annoyed me for a while at how easily he discovers various things in his snooping around. He gets found out quickly enough and things get ugly and brutal and very gruesome. This is not a great movie, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do right to the end with no holds barred.
14 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
It gets better. Well a little anyway.
beryleileen6 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I expected so much more to be honest. The first half was extremely average.. all the usual horror. And that policeman couldn't be more stupid if he tried. But towards the end it does ramp up a little with some quite comical bits. I especially liked the scene of the ceremony by the "hellhole " The actual ending does seem a bit rushed and there could have been a lot more destruction. Not terrible but I really don't understand so many high reviews. There are so many much better creepy movies out there. A great one is The Name of the Rose. Not supernatural but very creepy and absolutely excellent.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Watch on a empty stomach
cmeneses-7495728 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Watched this movie trying to find new films to incorporate to Halloween rotation. Not disappointed but not a film I'd watch twice.

It's nevertheless a great dark movie with a weird ending and good twists. It goes away from anything already out there so it feels very fresh.

Not a jump scare movie either. More a what the heck film with great cinematography and dark atmosphere.

The ending can feel a little too much but other than that it's a good film that keeps you invested until at least the middle of the third act.

My only criticism is that the villains suffer little after everything they done.
11 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
The horror was the terrible writing
mpahlke-koeble28 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This movie starts as a promising thriller which catches the viewers attention because of the suspense what horrible things are taking place in this monastery. Unfortunately it's all downhill after the first 15 minutes.

It becomes apparent that the monks are serving human parts as meals and one wonders wether the main character also got put on drugs because of his hallucinations. Unfortunately the writer was not capable enough to develop the story in this direction and chose to just let the prophecy come true and let satan rise. So satan destroys the world and that's it. That's the entire story.

The movie painfully reminded me of "The platform". Another garbage horror movie released on Netflix which also lacked a plot and left the viewer wondering what this was all about.

The only good things about this movie were the visuals and a few decent jump scares, but the director obviously forgot what's most important about a good film. Telling an interesting story.
25 out of 64 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Surprisingly it is very good
wolfheart_781 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This is an astonishing movie with an unexpected ending The plot is not new but the making was very good and the storyline was solid.

The Demon was actually made very good but the graphics were very poor which i really don't know why since the movie making itself was actually good.

I really loved the shot of Satan standing in front of the cross and lifted his hands... It gave me real chills!!!

I will start giving Polish movies a chance from now on in this kind of movies.

Also 1h 30min is perfect This one of the movies that gives you low expectations before watching but it will surprise you since the 5th minute of how exciting and thrilling it is.
9 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
Great Ambience, Nonsensical Plotting
charles-limcw31 October 2022
The ambience in this movie provided by the location and competent cinematography is the best thing about this movie.

Acting is fine too.

Unfortunately there are so many absurdities, inconsistencies and plot loopholes you'd expect Black Adder to pop by at any moment.

It's so bad that the eeriness the cinematography and soundtrack managed to initially create gave way to mirth and the movie is lost to silly parodies at best.

The overly huge prosthetic nose of the bruised protagonist doesn't help any. And for a supposed intelligentsia he sure is fooled more easily than the Pink Panther.

What a shame. The first atmospheric 10 mins is let down by the rest of the movie.

Watch for a laugh, but not a scare.
17 out of 41 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Interesting....
kigaiyuuto26 October 2022
Having seen no trailer of this, I've decided to do some mix and match with The Cabinet of Curiosities and I like this better than the first 4 episodes of that show (Lot 36, Graveyard Rats, The Autopsy, The Outside). The monastery in this movie felt lived-in and authentic compared to the obvious movie sets in that Guillermo del Toro show. Although both of these are disgusting so try not to eat during it.

This movie started a little slow and obvious but there are twists and turns along the way to keep you going. Not much characterization beyond the 3 or 4 names that are mentioned in the movie but no matter, the plot (and the title) is what draws the viewer interest anyways.

As for the ending, yes they did go there. It's divisive for sure but I like it and I find it appropriate.

All in all, a decent watch for Halloween season. Much better than I expected and much better than those cheap Blumhouse horror flicks.
78 out of 93 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Mea Culpa
begob6 January 2023
On entering a grim monastery, a novice finds he's been expected. He's always been expected.

Satanic horror that opens with a Damian Omen vibe, switching to an exorcism scenario with shades of The Name of the Rose. So it comes across as a bit of a mash-up ... until the contents of a suitcase are revealed and the intrigue begins.

The mood is very solemn, but that's alleviated by good pace and decent performances, with a series of switcheroos just about preventing a descent into predictability. But this story doesn't take its religion seriously, simply presenting the flip side of faith, when the problem of faith is where the real horrors lie. I think the mark of a good religious horror is that words and spells don't get the job done - the hero has to take action out of choice, as we get with The Exorcist. Perhaps the weakness with this story is that the hero is passive, his fate sealed by words from ye olde booke.

The climax is literal minded, but done very impressively with convincing real effects, while the camera swoops around a vast set as the music builds a sense of menacing doom.

Overall: Well written and produced, but not a first order concept.
6 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
couldve been better
LetsReviewThat2630 October 2022
This new netflix movie could have been a lot better than what we had. Now its not terrible and there are some redeming parts. These being the creation of the hell hole and ghe cgi for thr creature with the sheephead. There was a lot of scenes throughout though that never really went anywhere. They were slow and though its for the tension i did find myself skipping some parts of it. The best part comes at the end but i can't go into what happens there. Id recommend watching it yourself to make your own opinion. Apart from that though the acting was alright and the cgi was pretty good. In the end though these nothing new but some grotesque parts.
14 out of 35 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Scary as hell... until it's not
laflammemark7 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It's a pity I couldn't rate this movie on the first half alone. As far as atmosphere, setting and just overall uneasiness go, this one really set the mood from the get go. I don't know where they filmed this place, but I'm not ever going near it. It was almost uncomfortable to spend viewing time in that decrepit monastery, with its dim lighting, peeling walls and overall dinginess of age and suffering. Blech. And that backdrop really served the movie well as the sinister storyline began to develop. That first exorcism was downright scary and uncomfortably reminiscent of the mother of all scary flicks, The Exorcist.

Yet for me, it started going downhill shortly after - right about the time, in fact, that the writers started to recall that they had a special effects budget that had to be used up. At that point, it became a kind of orgy of black vomit, bulging eyes and flies buzzing up out of corpse stew. As the story progressed, it became more cartoonish, until finally we wrap up with a depiction of the demon who looked a lot like The Terminator causing wholesale damage to the old monastery and the misguided souls to inhabit it.

I think this movie wandered off the path of potential greatness just by a few feet. I feel bad for movie makers in a way. Who can manage subtlety when a fickle and desensitized public demands jump scares, top shelf gore and hyper realistic CGI?

A ten for the first half hour, a four for the rest of it. If they'd stuck with The Omenesque pace they started out with and skipped the Nightmare on Elm Street crap, this one could have been a classic.
2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
7.1/10. Recommended
athanasiosze7 November 2022
Not a great movie, but still the best horror movie i have watched the last 2 years, except for "WHAT JOSIAH SAW". But this, unlike JOSIAH, is a pure horror movie. There are twists, some are predictable and one i didn't see it coming. Acting is good, especially for a horror movie. It's much scarier than watching a masked-face man killing others. I got scared watching this and the ending made it even scarier, in retrospect.

In any case, this is a polarising ending. For sure, some people will dislike the whole movie because of it. I don't wanna spoil it, therefore i won't say anything about the ending, but if you are looking for a real horror movie, not a comedy horror, not mindless fun, i believe that you will like it.
5 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Don't waste your time
Misss2510 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Everything is going well until the end ruins it. From starting to ending, it makes us believe that it all about frauds who are doing business through this killing woman without any reasons and at last what happened? This!! I was so invested til end, I was hoping, the police officer would disclose everyone. But, not he turned into Saytan! What is this?

I don't know these days, why ending are so bad!

I was enjoying this though I thought, it was a ghost movie but it wasn't still I was enjoying, it was giving me thrills. But,ending is so awful.

I won't recommend this to anyone as starting will raise your expectations and ending will ruin it :)
17 out of 47 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
The Poles did not disappoint
tazkykamen30 October 2022
From the beginning of the film it is clear that nobody will play Hollywood here because Europe and Poland are different coffees) and when I found out that the director is the creator of the film W lesie dzis nie zasnie nikt (2020), I understood the musically and visually successful conclusion. Otherwise, the film is not at all original in terms of content and consists of two incompatible parts. One part is a non-fantastic mystery from a monastery with an atmosphere similar to The Ninth Gate (1999), and the ending is reminiscent of The Last Exorcism Part II (2013). Visually, however, the Hellhole is original and, at least for that reason, it should not be missed.
6 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Safely in the so bad it's good territory
tgcme1 November 2022
This is stupid, shallow, and written by people with no sense of a craft. It's lackluster, derivative, and cliche.

BUT- the climax. Oh the climax is screaming funny. Precisely because I can't tell if it's meant to be or not. It's totally WTF because you have NO idea what the writers were thinking! Are they serious? Is it satire? Are they trying to be funny? Do they think they're being legit?

What are they doing?!?!!!

And you just have to laugh and laugh and laugh.

Watch this and just get a kick at imagining these guys making this film. Because I mean....damn.

I guess they tried. They tried. 🤣
16 out of 45 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Pleasantly Surprised
johnspringer-954402 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
A fun mid-budget horror film that sustains an air of dark intrigue for most of its run time. Performances are apt, the dialogue (via subtitles) is focused and the practical effects work is effective. (But the less said about the CGI effects, especially in the finale, the better.) There's a nice realism to the characters along with moments of sly humor. In particular there was something relatable and almost endearing when the evil order, having spent 800 years planning, scheming and murdering its way to consummating a diabolical ritual, realizes the ritual apparently didn't work: they all stand around looking deflated, kicking rocks and saying things like "are you sure we do it right?" and "what now?" as anyone probably would in that situation. Anyway, is this a great movie? Nah. Is it entertaining and well-executed? Yes.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
Should have been a short film
arena-1092227 May 2023
OMG was this boring. Boring, boring, boring. I almost was going to end up like the missing women in this after wasting an hour and a half or my precious life. We only have so much time so don't waste it on this. If you really want to watch this just go to the last twenty or thirty minutes and make it a short film. I normally love paranormal and demonic stuff but this took the cake in just dragging it out. Some reviewers stated you needed to see what Marek was searching for but an hour of that. Please juice it up some. I do have to say the last fifteen minutes was good, but that is all that was worth it. Pass on this one.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
Original horror
Descent128 October 2022
I have no words to describe what I just saw. I am a horror fan, I have watched many movies but trust me you have never seen an ending like this! The scenery, the acting, the atmosphere are all there. The effects are top notch!

I don't understand the rating as it is an original amazing movie, something that we rare see these days. It is slow at the beginning but it builds up to reach the climax!

I agree with the other reviewers that it is indeed one of the best horror of the year!

Of course watch it with the original language.

I recommend it for those who like cults, exorcism and the battle of evil vs God!
86 out of 107 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Better Than Expected
Mehki_Girl17 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Hubby and I pick horror films to watch on those afternoons when we're struck at home or just don't have any plans.

I was really skeptical about this one and when I realize it was in Polish I was going to find something else but decided against it because usually when we watch together I pay attention to the screen. Also, i always use captioning anyway and he can't here so it didn't matter what language it was in ad long as the captioning was ability. I hate dubbing and powder the original language whatever it might be.

Well, I took a peek on IMDB and realized the main character wasn't a priest but a cop. And that really peaked my interest.

While many scenes are dark I didn't have problems seeing what was happening. I pretty much guessed some of it midway through.

When the guy they were looking for didn't appear it could have almost become a comical, but it certainly was a different turn of events.

I suggest having a strong stomach while you're eating, uh, I mean, watching this. The ending was very interesting and certainly different than the usual american-made expectations.
3 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
So many questions
onearo3 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Its a great movie if you don't try to look behind the curtains and act like the priests by not questioning anything, to me it feels like a mish mash of ideas that they only had the budget to explain half of, like the excorcism was great but it being fake didn't really add anything to the movie when on the other hand the cultists are obviously capable of real rituals with that all seeing eye, also acting was great but the plot twists were really predictable, like who wouldn't see it coming that the friendly priest would betray him, or that they are eating human. The last thing Im gonna mention is how the creature at the end seemed a bit off and I would have wanted to see it do more than just emerging from the tomb and look intimidatingly, so yeah 5/10.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Ostatnia Wieczerza/Hellhole, Satanic horror from Poland
Stevieboy66616 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Poland, 1957, a priest is about to slay a baby on a church altar when the police burst in and shoot him dead. The baby has an unusual scar on his chest. Thirty years later and a cop "Brother Marek" goes undercover in a rural monastery, investigating cases of missing women. What he finds are fake exorcisms, cannibalism and Satanic rituals. Marek has the same chest scar as the baby at the beginning. I find Netflix movies to be very hit or miss but Hellhole is pretty good. The film is set in a wonderful looking old building, large, decaying and very creepy, the cemetery in its grounds ooze Gothic horror. I don't speak Polish but the cast and acting were good, gore fans are treated to some serious splatter, mutilated corpses and a very graphic throat slash. I found the plot to be original and interesting, though the finale is perhaps too ambitious, it's a "wow!" ending but more in the surprise sense as opposed to one of admiration.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
An error has occured. Please try again.

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed