Director(s) – Ryan Imhoff and Matt Neal
Starring – Lanise Antoine Shelley (Empire, Chicago Fire), Ryan Imhoff (Wilt, Chicago P.D.), and Will Mobley (Stuck in Reality, Chicago Med)
Release Date – 2021
Rating – 2.5/5
The pandemic put a large strain on the film industry and an even bigger hit on indie cinema. While the film industry had to quickly adapt to the the new norm the indie filmmakers around the world had to figure out new ways to make no budget films. Some turned to films with small casts while trying to social distant and only having relatives and friends on set to lower the risk of exposure.
However, some would modernize the found footage sub-genre. Last year I was lucky enough to review the indie horror flicks Full Disclosure and Hacked which added the popular elements of found footage with popular modern conveniences like podcasting and video calls. A few weeks ago I was asked to review the indie horror flick Fresh Hell from filmmakers Ryan Imhoff and Matt Neal. The title really caught my attention and I agreed to it.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a group of friends who lost touch during the pandemic. To reunite, they decide to host a group video call so they can catch up with each other. What started as an innocent virtual get together quickly turns into something much more dangerous when a bearded stranger joins in place of one of their own. **Spoiler Alert**
Fresh Hell’s title, poster, and tagline really pulled me in. I was looking forward to a wild and unhinged horror film that summed up the last two years. However, what was before me was a solidly written film that lost traction along the way. I wanted to like it, and some things I did, but I found it difficult to watch at times.
The acting in this one is surprisingly well done. The cast has very little experience but they all work very well together. Their inexperience doesn’t show and they all do a fantastic job at creating their characters. With that being said, co-director Ryan Imhoff made the film for me. I loved his character The Stranger and how intense he was. I would have loved to see this character in a more traditional film. I loved his personality, intensity, and energy that he brought to the film. The movie may have missed it’s mark with me but I would watch it again just to watch The Stranger.
The story for this is an interesting idea but it does date itself with the Zoom call angle which is a huge part of the story. That’s not really a bad thing when you consider that it’s centered around the pandemic but in a few years when this slips from memory the film will not have the impact that it does now. I liked the idea behind The Stranger, the trippy cult/dog thing and how fucking out there it goes. However, the first thirty minutes or so will really try your patience. The only thing that was keeping me awake was The Stranger. The whole video conference set up is extremely awkward to me. I can’t explain it but I have no interest in films with this set up. I first saw it with Full Disclosure last year and now it’s in several more indie flicks since the pandemic started.
Finally, this is not the bloodiest movie I’ve seen. We get one really cool gag that I won’t spoil along with some little bloody moments here and there but nothing that memorable. Overall, Fresh Hell is a cool idea that just didn’t work for me. I know some genre fans will love it but it’s one I didn’t care for. I did like Imhoff’s performance and I would recommend this one 100 times over because of that but that’s the extent of it.
