Hell (2011)

The Worst Film Ever

Really Surprised!

Admirable film.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This post-apocalyptic thriller is pretty average and tame stuff when you compare it to similar genre-efforts from elsewhere in the world, but it's worth a watch for the competent handling, decent acting and effective use (or rather processing) of light, and also interesting if you're wondering about the current state of German-language cinema.German cinema (including Austria/Swiss) has a few profound problems which prevent it from being as respected as it once was, not least is the (perceived) poor marketability of films which have nothing to do with the war/wall and aren't one of the countless comedy/drama/romance efforts (the all-conquering "schnulli" genre). Other issues are:1) films with dark subject matter have little light relief or switch of mood. 2) in such films characters are drawn so starkly they generate no relationship with the audience (and thus no sympathy). 3) the film-makers tend to trust convention, there's very little experimentation.There was a brief renaissance in the late 90's/early 00's with Lola Rennt & Das Experiment which avoided these pitfalls, but the success of the overrated Das Leben Der Anderen and the deserved respect Goodbye Lenin & Der Untergang received may have pushed film-makers looking beyond the usual guff for inspiration into conservatism.Die Wand ("The Wall", not actually 'the' wall) was an attempt to correct the 3rd point, but it failed to do anything about the first two. It was very well shot so deserves a look, just as "Hell" deserves a viewing, which while repeating these 3 pitfalls does at least execute its premise competently, and does a decent job in making us believe in its atmosphere.No question German/Austrian/Swiss cinema is going through an overlong mediocre phase, and ultimately the derivative Hell isn't going to change that.

Refreshingly bereft of pretense, done in a pleasingly stark and straightforward manner, with no needless fancy special effects and a welcome emphasis on the raw human element over empty flashy spectacle, this resolutely grim and gripping tale of four desperate individuals struggling to stay alive in a bleak, barren, and unforgiving world ravaged by the unsparing heat of the scorching sun whose journey to find water in the mountains only to run afoul of a dangerous backwoods family who have resorted to cannibalism out of basic necessity makes a virtue out of its modest budget by wisely keeping things small scale and intimate throughout. Director Tim Fehlbaum, who also co-wrote the compact and compelling script with Oliver Kahl and Thomas Wobke, relates the engrossing story at an unwavering brisk pace, smartly explores the central themes of trust and loyalty, and does a bang-up sound job of depicting a plausibly harsh'n'hostile environment where savagery and hopelessness reign supreme. The uniformly stellar acting by the capable cast rates as another substantial asset: Hannah Herzsprung delivers an excellent performance as the determined Marie, Stipe Erceg contributes a fine portrayal as resourceful top mechanic Tom, Lars Eidinger registers well as the meek Phillip, Lisa Vacari makes a favorable impression as Marie's cute and appealing younger sister Marie, and Angela Winkler excels as the tough and redoubtable matriarch of the monstrous backwoods clan. Markus Forderer's striking widescreen cinematography provides a spot-on severe bleached-out rendering of the hellishly hot and desolate landscape. Lorenz Dangel's rattling score does the heart-pounding trick. Recommended viewing for fans of this genre.

The marketing might make much of Roland Emmerich producing involvement, but while this low-budget German survivor story is set the day after tomorrow but it's about as far from The Day After Tomorrow as you can get. The sun is flaring and Earth's temperature has risen ten degrees. A group of survivors, led by tough Marie (Hannah Herzsprung), make their way toward the mountains, toward water. As with John Hillcoat's The Road, this is a tale about the day-to-day fight for survival after a nameless cataclysm has befallen the planet. But while Hillcoat's film was perennially chilly, writer-director Tim Fehlbaum's is all about the lethal glare of the sun. The conceit of the characters having to avoid direct sunlight seems like an affectionate nod to Kathryn Bigelow's vampire classic Near Dark. It adds an intriguing extra dimension to many scenes. The film begins as a fairly standard waste-crawler, but gradually turns into a Texas Chain Saw Massacre-style nightmare, as Marie and her sister find themselves the prisoners of a ghastly family, led by a monstrous matriarch, horribly rational and literal in her attempts to ensure her family's survival. Fehlbaum draws impressive intensity from the actors and delivers a series of tense set-pieces. In the final act I feared events would lurch into torture porn territory, but on the contrary, it's at this point that the films characters properly emerge, and the humanity of the piece comes to light. What could have been a film about cannibalism is actually about sisterhood. On a technical level, the film is well shot. But the editing is at times of the chaotic variety: needless rapid cutting. I guess this technique is meant to bring across the thrill and confusion of the moment, but for me the filmmaker is giving us a sense of the experience at the expense of us actually understanding what's going on. Not a trade worth making, in my opinion. There's nothing much new in Hell, but as a refined, engrossing amalgamation of well-worn ideas, it hangs together nicely, all the way up to the disappointingly sudden ending.

The plot: Scavengers in post-apocalyptic Germany try to survive global warming, thieves, and cannibals.I wasn't really all that impressed with Hell. It starts off promising, like a German version of The Road, but it eventually abandons all of the post-apocalyptic themes in order to focus entirely on a crazy cannibal family. Cannibalism has always been a popular aspect of post-apocalyptic movies, but I think Hell really doesn't get the balance right. Way too much time is spent on the crazy cannibal family, and I'm really not all that fond of "escape from the crazy cannibal family" movies. They're all basically the same, and it's become way overdone in recent years. This is actually one of the better crazy cannibal families, but it's still kind of boring.I liked the post-apocalyptic aspects of this movie, and I thought that it could have been much better if they'd focused more on that. They could easily have kept the crazy cannibal family, but don't make the whole movie about that. After escaping from the cannibals, they could have found a post-apocalyptic town that was using slavery to rebuild. Or they find a sick man who wants food and water. Should they give up some of their rations for someone who will probably die soon anyway? But, no, they just run into a stereotypical cannibal family and try to escape. Boring.If you're desperate for post-apocalyptic movies (or you still want more cannibal horror movies after seeing Wrong Turn 8), this is a pretty decent choice. If you're looking for something exciting, different, and new, then I'd say you should pass.