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RAISING HELL
Written, Photographed, Directed, and Produced by Brandon Bethmann and Eric Szmyr
Edited by Tony GrockiGovernor - Michael F. Hayes
Lynn Russell - Mirinda James
Zack Alder - Ashton HolmesIt's a strange world we live in when a movie that does everything right will probably get little fanfare. Most shot-on-video productions that hit video shelves concentrate on the more exploitative elements to secure rental space. Tits, ass, blood, and guts are what sell, not story, character development, acting, or technical proficiency. Yes, the world is getting stranger by the minute, and I fear RAISING HELL will go unnoticed.
9 times out of 10, readers can tell when I have little to say about movie. I go into the technical aspects and rattle on about how great the film looks and what a fine job the actors did crafting their characters. This doesn't mean the movie was bad, just soulless. The project wasn't about anything other than the story being told. No sub-text, no hidden meanings, just straight forward formula, albeit nice looking formula.
RAISING HELL is the exception, it's that 1 out of 10 that's truly something more substantial. It's a movie about faith and change hidden beneath the veneer of a supernatural thriller, and a nice looking supernatural thriller at that.
The atmosphere of RAISING HELL is one comprised of long, deep shadows. The kind of shadows little children see on their ceiling at night, and then pull the covers up over their heads thinking that this futile act will protect them from the creepy-crawlies hiding within each phantasmic penumbra. Children are funny that way. I should know, I did the same thing for years. Some nights it would take me hours to fall asleep. There was a street light outside my window, just on the other side of a giant maple. I can still picture the witches and demons circling on my ceiling.
It wasn't until years later that I realized nothing compared to the monsters out walking the streets. Those creatures would stab right through the bed sheets. No, true darkness and evil comes from what man can do to another.
What if man could control the supernatural? RAISING HELL uses that childhood fear of the dark to tell a suspense-filled thriller about the monsters-that-go-bump-in-the-night, and the corrupted souls that would dare master them.
New York's Governor is up for re-election and the house is stacked against him. His opposition is ahead in the polls. The Attorney General is investigating his cabinet for corruption and abuse. To make matters worse, his newly appointed spin-doctor, Zack Alder, fresh from college, is having an affair with the very woman leading that investigation.
The most efficient way to deal with your political enemies is to remove them from the picture. So the murders can't be tracked back to him, The Governor uses the Keys of Solomon, an ancient religious relic, to call upon demonic forces. Mutilated, the bodies start to pile up as The Governor succumbs to his own ambitions of controlling Hell on Earth.
Investigating the crimes is Police Officer Lynn Russell, a woman prone to self doubt through sexism on the force and her own religious fervor after witnessing the beasts in action.
The press that accompanied the screener stated that the majority of the cast are seasoned theater professionals. Their low-key performances add the right amount of believability to pull everything off. And I hope that all micro-budget film and video makers out there take note, if you look in the right places, you can actors with a working knowledge of their craft. Sure, friends can act, but actors do it better.
RASING HELL is a thriller that takes itself seriously, and backs itself up every step of the way. It's ambitious storytelling with the smarts to keep all the right elements in the correct order: story, character development, acting, and technical proficiency. I can't recommend this one enough.