Hellborn (2003)

Director:

Philip J. Jones

Writer:

Matt McCombs

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Everyone pays for their sins.

Plot:

James Bishop is a young psychology resident, excited about his new job at St. Andrews Mental Hospital and the chance to help severely ill patients...

Plot Keywords:

Patient | Insanity | Devil Worship | Human Experiment | Mental Institution

Cast

Bruce Payne	...	Dr. McCort
Matt Stasi	...	James Bishop
Tracy Scoggins	...	Helen
Julia Lee	...	Lauren
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Smithy (as Tom 'Tiny' Lister)
Gregory Wagrowski	...	Hadley
Bill McKinney	...	Gas Station Attendant
Randall England	...	Harry Smith
Joe Sabatino	...	Frank
Deborah Flora	...	Nurse Wells
Kyle T. Heffner	...	Dr. Peter Francis
Stefan Marchand	...	Mark
Michael Earl Reid	...	Que
David Jean Thomas	...	Jackson
Patrick Newall	...	Policeman
Shaun O'Hagan	...	Kloves
Ethan Wilson	...	Delusional Patient
Peter Dennis	...	Dr. Flannery
Angel Boris Reed	...	Nurse (as Angel Boris)
Rage Day	...	Orderly
Melissa Moore	...	Nurse Ryan
Roger W. Morrissey	...	Harvester (as Roger Morrissey)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Bedno	...	Flora Jonathon (uncredited)

Directed by
Philip J. Jones

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Matt McCombs		(as Matthew McCombs)

Produced by
Scott Bedno	....	co-producer
Anthony Callie	....	co-executive producer
Bill Dion	....	line producer
Donald G. Hunt	....	executive producer
Priscilla Padilla	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Steve Bauman
Cindy Valentine Leone		(as Valentine Leone)

Cinematography by
Mark Melville

Film Editing by
John Dorsett

Casting by
Corri Jones		(as Corri Lewis)

Production Design by
Michael Voelker

Art Direction by
Jason Fitzgerald

Costume Design by
Kathy Pillsbury

Makeup Department
Jenny Lipkin	....	hair intern
Jenny Lipkin	....	makeup intern
Angel Radefeld	....	makeup department head
Richard Redlefsen	....	prosthetic makeup artist
Kimberly Ulmer	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Matt Zettell	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nehme Fadlallah	....	second assistant director
Artie Glackin	....	first assistant director
Andy Sowerwine	....	second assistant director
Rick Walls	....	first assistant director

Art Department
David Stark	....	property master

Sound Department
Alejandro Alvarenga	....	post sound coordinator
Andrew Casciato	....	foley editor
Andrew Casciato	....	sound effects editor
Steven Erickson	....	adr editor
Steven Erickson	....	dialogue editor
Jeremy Hoenack	....	sound recording mixer
Tony Kucenski	....	foley artist
Noah Southall	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Nicole Michaud	....	creature effects coordinator: makeup & monsters

Camera and Electrical Department
Justine Ariel Cook	....	electrician
Mark J. Coyne	....	Steadicam operator
Vincent Dow	....	gaffer
Bryan Gilbert	....	grip
Bryan Hayes	....	grip
Gary Lowrance	....	electrician
Steven A. Lundgren	....	electrician
Eric McCandless	....	still photographer
Brian Reid	....	electrician
Alpheus Underhill	....	best boy electric
Matt Wilbur	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dana Ginsberg	....	set costumer
Mickie Lujan-Shaw	....	set costumer
Tammy L. Olsen	....	set costumer

Music Department
Colin Chin	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Chad K. Bell	....	production assistant
Braden Bowen	....	production coordinator
Boaz Hepner	....	production assistant
Rosalyn McVay	....	production assistant
Donique Patton	....	script supervisor
Rhonda Wheelan	....	craft service
Rik Walters	....	financing consultant (uncredited)

Thanks
Jason L. Tolbert	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Paragon Film Group

Distributors

• Highlight Video (2003) (Germany) (video)
• New Select (2004) (Japan) (video)
• Eagle Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (video)
• Quality Films (2003) (Mexico) (video)
• LNK Video (2003) (Portugal) (video)
• Beliven Entertainment (2003) (Russia) (video)
• Intersonic (2003) (Czech Republic) (video)
• Reivaj Films (2004) (Spain) (video)
• Digital Right Pictures (2003) (Thailand) (video)
• PT Multiplex Media (2003) (Indonesia) (video)
• CDA Entertainment (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Highlight Film (Germany)
• Paragon Film Group

Special Effects

• Image Resolution, The
• Makeup and Monsters (special makeup and "Harvester" effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Keslow Cameras  camera equipment provided by
• Sound Trax Studios  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Asylum of the Damned" - USA (alternative title)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and language

Runtime:

Brazil:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Norwalk, California, USA

Company:

Paragon Film Group

Boring...

In theory, films should be a form of entertainment. While this excludes documentaries and other experimental forms of film-making; most movies, specially genre films, must not only tell it's story or message, they must entertain their target audience in some way. All this just to say that in my opinion a bad movie is not a movie with low production values or low-budget, a bad movie is one that is boring.

"Hellborn" or "Asylum of the Damned" as is known in the U.S., is a bad movie simply because it is just not involving, and irremediably boring and tiresome. While it has a very good premise, it is just poorly developed and the mediocre acting doesn't make things better. On another hands the film probably could had been a fine or even classic B-movie, but here it is just a bad attempt at film-making.

Director Philip J. Jones tells the tale of James Bishop (Matt Stasi), a young psychiatry resident, who just got his dream job at St. Andrew Mental Hospital; but the old asylum seems to hide a secret. After the mysterious death of some patients and the constant rumors of satanic practices, James decides to find out what is going on; only to find the incredulity of his boss, Dr. McCort (Bruce Payne), who believes that Bishop is going as insane as his patients.

While the premise is quite interesting, the execution of the film leaves a lot to be desired. In an attempt of making a supernatural psychological thriller, Jones goes for the easy way out and makes a movie filled with every cliché of the genre. Of course, there are lots of great movies that are also filled with clichés; but in "Hellborn" every single one is wasted and turned into a cheap jump scare to keep things moving, resulting in a boring and predictable storyline.

The acting is quite mediocre for the most part, with one big exception: Bruce Payne gives a top-notch performance that makes the movie look unworthy of such good acting. Matt Stasi is very weak as the lead character and the rest of the cast make forgettable performances.

Despite all this flaws, one thing has to be written about "Hellborn"; it has a visual look very good for the budget and very similar to modern day big-budget Hollywod "horror" productions. Also, the make-up and prosthetics are done very nicely and the designs for the main antagonist are quite good. Sadly, the rest of the Special Effects are awful and outdated, making a huge contrast with the make-up & prosthetics.

"Hellborn" is a movie with a few good things outnumbered by its serious flaws with terrible results. Hardcore horror or b-movie fans may be interested by its premise but it is a boring and tiresome experience. 3/10