Week 10 (Aug 23 – 29) – Mill Creek’s Mausoleum of Mumblegore: The indie wing of low-budget horror or the horror wing of low-budget indie.
Spanning five centuries, Hellbox revolves around a mysterious, ancient metal box rumored to contain a literal piece of Hell. The cursed artifact weaves together intersecting storylines across time, dragging an eclectic mix of souls into its orbit. We journey from Templar knights in black-and-white, spilling striking red blood across the screen, to a group of college girls lost in the woods, a suicidal psychiatrist and a haunted couple keeping dark secrets. It plays like an anthology glued together by temporal slippage and a wide-ranging conspiracy where anyone—even yourself—might just be a puppet.
Keen-eyed sleuths have noted that Hellbox appears to be a retitled, re-released, or re-edited version of the 2008 indie film All That is Hidden. The film was a collaborative effort, with Sheldon Inkol and David Scott steering the ship, and Robin Sen stepping in to direct the “Final Confrontation” segment. The distinct low-budget charm is dialed up to eleven thanks to awkward post-dubbed dialogue and flat character effects, which unintentionally layer an extra layer of trippy, nightmarish atmosphere right on top of the practical effects and dream sequences.
This is a passionate piece of independent art made by people who live and breathe myth, lore and midnight movies. It’s a bit too long yet delightfully quirky, obviously loves Phantasm and Hellraiser, and has no problem being weird. Also: A Christmas movie!
You can watch this on Tubi.
