From the highly entertaining and inventive horror filmmakers The Adams Family (last year’s Where The Devil Roams, and 2021’s Hellbender) comes their take on and love letter to classic sci-fi-driven creature features, Hell Hole. The film sees an American fracking crew (played by filmmakers Tobey Poser and John Adams) set up shop in the isolated Serbian wilderness and await clearance from the government-assigned environmental experts that the drilling won’t disrupt any rare ecosystems. Once permission has been given, the fracking begins, but only lasts a few minutes when the drills come across a meaty substance under the surface that turns out to be a perfectly preserved and very much alive French soldier who seems to have been buried there for decades.
It doesn’t take long to discover that something living inside the soldier has been keeping him alive all this time, and the occasional appearance of tiny tentacles coming out of the man’s mouth, ears and eyes make it clear that it’s looking to get out and find a new, larger host. When the parasitic monster finally does appear, it looks like a combination of more familiar movie creatures. It's reminiscent of the Tingler or Alien face-huggers but with a few particularly gross and Lovecraftian flourishes, including the fact that its preferred entry point on the human body is below the belt. Another interesting twist about this creature is that it doesn’t seem to want to take over female bodies, meaning only the male characters are in danger of becoming human “wombs” for this ever-growing thing.
Written by Adams, Poser and daughter Lulu Adams (I’m not certain if other daughter Zelda was involved in this movie), Hell Hole has a little more going on in the subtext than one might imagine. The environmental experts want to keep the creature alive for study; there’s the constant battle between the Serbians and the Americans; and there’s the feminist slant on the science fiction trope of an entity like this searching for the perfect (male) host. There are moments of satire but nothing overtly comedic, although there are certain laughs to be found throughout the work. Poser is particularly good as the leader of this raggedy crew, who would rather be anywhere else but won’t say no to the money she could earn from this job if it pans out.
Hell Hole is appropriately squishy and bloody, while also giving its characters a surprising amount of depth for what is effectively a b-movie. But that’s the core of what makes an Adams family joint so appealing and unique in the horror landscape. They find the humanity in even the least human-friendly stories and tap into what makes us tick, what makes us scared, or laugh, and points out our flaws.
The film is now streaming exclusively on Shudder
Did you enjoy this post? Please consider supporting Third Coast Review’s arts and culture coverage by making a donation. Choose the amount that works best for you, and know how much we appreciate your support!