Hell House (film)

Hell House is a 2002 documentary directed by George Ratliff. It focuses on one of many hell houses, Christian haunted attraction, located in this instance in Cedar Hill, Texas.

Hell House
Directed byGeorge Ratliff
Produced byZachary Mortensen, Devorah DeVries
StarringTrinity Church Youth Group
CinematographyJawad Metni
Edited byMichael LaHaie
Music byBubba and Matt Kadane
Release date
  • October 1, 2002 (2002-10-01)
Running time
85 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

The film follows the youth group of the Cedar Hill Trinity Church, documenting the work involved in creating the Hell house, the performances themselves, and the personal lives of some of the participants.

Reception

The film holds a rating of 94% "certified fresh" on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 34 reviews.[1] A reviewer for the New York Times "Through such generalizations are destructive stereotypes born, on both the left and the right."[2]

Background

Ratliff, in a NPR interview, said the motivation for making the documentary was to display the Christian right in the United States. The documentary films the annual Halloween show at the Assemblies of God church. Ratliff said the Hell House was invented by this church and that it had been franchised all over the world.

The Assemblies of God's annual Hell House, on which the documentary film is based, is a "fire and brimstone"-style show with a concluding death scene followed by a trip to hell, followed by an invitation to the audience to accept Christ, thus saving their souls. Presentations during the show include a death scene due to HIV, an abortion, a school shooting, date rape, suicide, and a fatal drunk driving crash.[3]

References
  1. "Hell House". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Hell House". NY Times. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  3. "Documentary Focuses on Dallas 'Hell House'". NPR. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 21 April 2010.


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