To Hell and Back ought to be required viewing for any adult who tolerates bullying as a necessary part of childhood, to prepare children for the adversity of the "real world". Kane Hodder has battled and survived life-threatening injuries and prospered in a career that sees him falling through staircases and setting himself on fire; nobody can argue this is not a tough man. Yet to see the very real, very raw pain in his eyes when he recounts a childhood spent as a misfit, when he lays out precisely how constant bullying drove him to a sense of worthlessness and guilt that nearly led to him taking his own life, I think any empathetic adult would have to see that bullying is not "necessary", not some obligatory rite of passage that builds character and encourages self-reliance. It's just abuse--hollow, cruel, purposeless abuse, and it shouldn't be excused.
That's not all the documentary covers, but it's the part that affected me the most. The rest of Kane's story is powerful as well. The filmmaking style is straightforward, with talking heads and movie clips, and it encompasses the fun of a career in horror movies alongside the pain of Hodder's particular traumas. Seeing his growth both in ability and self-confidence as an actor is fun and touching as he flexes his range to take on emotional roles as well as comedic ones, stretching beyond the standard silent killer roles in which many might be tempted to typecast him.
The only problem I had is that occasionally the movie does start to feel a bit "puffy" in certain moments just to bulk up the running time. A hardcore Hodder devotee might appreciate a condensed rundown of his filmography, but I don't really feel the need to listen to filmmakers take the opportunity to pitch their low-budget horror films to me, even if Kane Hodder did appear in them.
