Down to Hell (1997) User Reviews

Interesting curio

[simon_booth · 5/10 · 14 June 2003]

4 guys kidnap random people from the street, take them to a remote forest and give them 3 choices: run away, kill us or die. The film follows the fate of one of their victims. That's the plot, if one can really call it such.

DOWN TO HELL is generally known as the "Prequel" to Ryuhei Kitamura's classic film VERSUS, though since it was made 4 years earlier it's more proper to say that VERSUS is the sequel to down to hell. The relationship is more like that between EL MARIACHI and DESPERADO though, except DOWN TO HELL has none of the artistic merit that EL MARIACHI does

The film is basically a 45 minute short shot on video by a group of friends in a wood. The budget was basically "bring your own blood packs guys", and it can't have taken more than a day or two to film. If you thought VERSUS was low budget, DOWN TO HELL will recalibrate your scale.

Ryuhei Kitamura is currently shooting scenes for VERSUS 1.5. Given this trend, we might consider DOWN TO HELL to be VERSUS 0.1. It's like VERSUS with no kung fu, no gunplay, no wirework, no characterisation, minimal plot, comically crude gore and only a fraction of the style and wit. How Kitamura managed to get financing for VERSUS on the strength of DOWN TO HELL I don't know, as it shows little of the potential he evidently had hiding inside of him.

It seems hardly fair to criticise a film made in the conditions of DOWN TO HELL for any of the above things though - taken as a bunch of friends spending a couple of days in a wood with a video camera, it's quite a fun experience. Nothing like the adrenalin fix of VERSUS though, and make absolutely no mistake - if it weren't for the success of VERSUS there's no way anybody would be watching DOWN TO HELL now.

If you're a fan of VERSUS, it's worth picking up DOWN TO HELL just to see some of the backstory, and the genesis of the ideas that Kitamura would take so much further in later years. It's value is only as a curio though.

VERSUS 0.1

[silentmallrat · 6/10 · 15 May 2003]

This is basicly Versus with out the great kung fu. That dosn't mean it isnt a good film. Spoiler if you can consider it. The basic plot of the film is four guys who play a little game. Find a random person on the street, kidnap them, take them out to the middle of a forest and hunt down and kill the poor soul for fun. Little do they know that this time out, there's something in the forest that is not pleased and brings back the people they've killed for a little vengance. The movie is very low budget, but thats what makes it work. Like Versus, you can see the influence of EVIL DEAD and a hell of a lot of kung fu movies mixed, though on a limited budget. Also, like Versus, non of the charecters have any names, so you have to go off of calling with what their weapon was like KNIFE GUY and CHAIN WHIP GUY and so on. All in all not a bad film, and only running just under an hour, is a great little gem for fans of indie horror.

Energetic Insanity

[NIXFLIX-DOT-COM · 5/10 · 16 September 2003]

DOWN TO HELL is the 45-minute precursor to the director's feature length film VERSUS. And for those who have seen that movie, DOWN TO HELL is more of the same. Or, is the correct phrasing, LESS of the same. It's basically VERSUS on a smaller scale, with only one zombie instead of hordes. There are three young toughs instead of eternal adversaries and yakuza gangsters.

But beyond those points, it's less of the same. And oh yeah, the whole thing is shot with a Super 8.

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of the film)

A True Glimpse Of Humble Beginnings...

[Jordan-M · 6/10 · 4 July 2003]

I had seen Ryuhei Kitamura's phenomenal "Versus" before this, so my expectations were a bit different than what I ended up seeing...

But "Down To Hell" is one interesting little movie.

The story is simple - and the dialogue is kept to a minimum. Basically, a man is kidnapped by 4 other men, and is forced in a "survival game" through the woods.

Here, he is given a 10 minute head start, and gets three choices of how to end the game. 1) He finds a way to escape, regardless of the fact that they're miles from the nearest road. 2) He kills the four of them, or 3) He himself is killed, and "escapes to hell" (hence the title.)

*SPOILERS!!!* The poor guy doesn't last too long, and after a few close calls, actually gets killed after a throat-slitting and a brutal beating with a chain. The murderer turns his attention for a moment, and when he looks back - THE CORPSE IS GONE! Now, roles are reversed as the hunters become the hunted of a vengeful cadaver. *SPOILERS OVER!*

While watching this, you can almost see Kitamura's style developing through the filming - by the end, the kinetic camera movements and wild editing definitely foreshadow the look of "Versus", which actually helps it immensely. This movie clocks in rather short, at just under an hour... But it's best that way. Personally, I'm surprised they got as much film time out of it as they did. Regardless, it's worth a look if you loved Versus - but buy it cheap if possible. A cool feature on the DVD is a teaser trailer for "Versus", or as it was first called "Down 2 Hell." Just be warned... It IS seizure-inducing - they love that strobelight.

Let the game begin

[phanthinga · 6/10 · 28 January 2019]

Down to Hell is a small backwoods horror movie directed by Ryuhei Kitamura before he came up with a beautiful mess called Versus and while this one does not contain any kung-fu zombie or sword fight it actually more easy to follow and in many ways inspired how the world in Versus works. A bunch of sadistic pricks got to taste their own medicine after they pickup their last victim and left him to death in the Resurrection Forest and if the movie Versus taught you anything that is there 100% chance that you will never get out alive. Down to Hell is short, sweet and straight to the point so if you a hardcore fan of Ryuhei Kitamura and don't mind spending 46 minutes then check this movie out