A man must find 3 souls to send to hell in this horror comedy premiere at Slamdance
“There’s a portal to hell in your laundromat,” the lead character in Woody Bess’ Portal to Hell tells the manager of a laundromat. Dunn (Trey Holland) is a freelancer who works from home, calling people about their past due medical debt. His days are fairly routine except for his attempts to befriend his grumpy elder next door neighbor Mr. Bobshank (Keith David, Nope, American Fiction). When a demon escapes from the portal to hell – conveniently located in a dryer in the neighborhood laundromat – Dunn finds out he can save Mr. Bobshank’s life if he finds three other souls to replace him. Well, three other souls or a member of 2010’s pop band Hot Chelle Rae. Dunn then ropes the sarcastic manager of the laundromat, Ed (Romina D’Ugo), into his search for souls.
The filmmakers use lighting in intriguing ways, literally highlighting the storytelling. The fixtures in Dunn’s apartment glow an eerie orange whenever he speaks to the demon (named Chip, voiced by everyone’s favorite character actor Richard Kind) and switch to a cool tone otherwise. The lighting in Ed’s laundromat appears to be extremely dim fluorescents along with neon lights that emphasize the hellish hue that appears through the portal.
Portal to Hell offers Richard Kind and Keith David, veteran actors at this point in their careers, a chance to take on roles we haven’t seen them try before. Especially Kind playing a snarky demon; who would expect that? Bess’ screenplay contains unexpected depth. For a silly comedy with horror tendencies, the film spends a good amount of time contemplating the theme of forgiveness (of oneself as much as others). Despite a few spots where the pacing tends to drag, the film is a fun romp with a message that doesn’t clunk you over the head. I also appreciate that Portal to Hell isn’t too gruesome. The horror here is more existential than anything. Is hell a literal place or an existence of our own making?
Portal to Hell premiered this weekend at Slamdance Film Festival.
