Hell House (2001)

A look at the "Hell House" performed annually in October by the youth members of Trinity Church (Assemblies of God) in Cedar Hill, Texas (a Dallas suburb) - seen by over 10,000 visitors ... See full summary »

Director:

George Ratliff

Stars:

Aria Adloo, Ashley Adloo, Amy Allred

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Aria Adloo	...	Herself
Ashley Adloo	...	Herself
Amy Allred	...	Herself
Gabriel Allred	...	Himself
Cherie Asbjornson	...	Herself
Brett Bedard	...	Himself
Tim Ferguson	...	Himself
Ben Hennesy	...	Himself
Jim Hennesy	...	Himself - Trinity Church pastor
Kristen Hennesy	...	Herself
Mark Hennesy	...	Himself
Rosanna Hennesy	...	Herself
Ryan Hennesy	...	Himself
J.R. Hernandez	...	Himself
Jennifer Hillman	...	Herself

Storyline

A look at the "Hell House" performed annually in October by the youth members of Trinity Church (Assemblies of God) in Cedar Hill, Texas (a Dallas suburb) - seen by over 10,000 visitors each year. We see the organization and planning of the event - including auditions, construction, scripting and rehearsals - largely through the involvement of one family: a single father with 4 children (one of whom suffers from cerebral palsy) including his daughter, a cast member.

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Plot Keywords:

hell house | church | audition | assemblies of god | texas | 

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Taglines:

This church wants to scare the Hell out of you.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Cantina Pictures Official website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 2002 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Trinity Church - 1231 E. Pleasant Run Road, Cedar Hill, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

GreenHouse Pictures, Cantina Pictures, Mixed Greens Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Interviewee: The world is the worst that it has ever been. It's an ugly, evil world and that's a scary thing, but at the same time, it's a good thing because that means that Jesus is close to coming, and he's about to come back for his bride.

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Connections

Featured in SexTV: Asexuals/Hell House/She Comes First (2005)

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Soundtracks

Techno

User Reviews

Brilliant Documentary

A previous review for this film infers that the documentary makers lose respect for their subjects. After seeing the documentary, I couldn't come to the same conclusion. These people with all their good intentions bring ridicule on themselves. Bringing hell back into religion and trivialising disturbing scenarios with gory reenactments can breed the sort of hatred towards margianlised people that seems the antithesis of a Christian message. While sophisticated film festival audiences might be in fits of laughter at the planning and execution of hell house, there is a serious undercurrent. The makers should be congratulated for their subtle approach in dealing with the personal problems of the protagonists and the way such a seeming laughable freak show can 'convert' people to this form of religious belief.

If Hell house is preaching to the converted, the actual subjects of the documentary are definitely NOT preaching to the converted. They are preaching to those lacking direction or disillusioned with their life. As the ending shows, the scenes which seem ridiculous to us, lead some people to convert to the close-knit web of this Christian group. To me, this is a pretty frightening scenario. What is the community doing wrong that would make young people so susceptible to such an outdated morality? I just hope that this documentary will be shown more widely, particularly to younger people within the context of discussing the issues the documentary raises. And for most of us who will not subscribe to the often demented views espoused by some of the subjects of the doco - it's one of the most amusing and entertaining documentaries around.