Hellgate (1989 film)
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| Hellgate | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | William A. Levey |
| Screenplay by | Michael S. O'Rourke |
| Produced by | Anant Singh |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Peter Palmer |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by |
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| Distributed by | Vidmark Entertainment[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Countries | United States South Africa |
| Language | English |
Hellgate is a 1989 American–South African horror film directed by William A. Levey and written by Michael S. O'Rourke.[2] The film stars Ron Palillo, Abigail Wolcott and Carel Trichardt. It follows two young couples who become embroiled in the mystery of a desolate ghost town, Hellgate, where a young woman was kidnapped and murdered by a biker gang in 1959. It was released in the United States directly-to-video in August 1990 through Vidmark Entertainment.[3]
Plot
A motorcycle gang kidnaps a young woman, Josie, from a diner and brutally kills her. Many years later, the girl's father finds a magic crystal that can bring the life back to dead objects.
Cast
- Ron Palillo as Matt
- Abigail Wolcott as Josie Carlyle
- Carel Trichardt as Lucas Carlyle
- Petrea Curran as Pam
- Evan J. Klisser as Chuck
- Joanne Warde as Bobby (as Joanne Ward)
- Frank Notaro as Buzz (as Frank Notard)
- Lance Vaughan as Zonk
Reception
Andrew Smith of Popcorn Pictures gave the film an abysmal score of 1/10, writing, "Hellgate isn’t just bad, it’s on the same ‘utterly terrible’ plane of existence as the likes of Troll and Raging Sharks. It’s not a film you can even watch if you’re curious about how awful it is. Just forget it ever existed."[4] Michael Weldon in The Psychotronic Video Guide gave the film a negative review, noting: "Ron Palillo (from Welcome Back, Kotter), who was nearly 40 at the time, stars in this awful, irritating teen horror movie."[5] Graeme Clark from The Spinning Image awarded the film 1/10 stars, calling it "utter garbage" and criticizedthe film's script, phony special effects, and acting.[6]
Not all reviews, however, were negative. Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews rated the film a grade B, calling it "one of the more ambitious and better films to come out of Poverty Row's Lippert Studios".[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Film Guide". Los Angeles Times. May 27, 1990. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fountain, Clarke. "Hellgate". Allrovi. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Knight-Ridder News Service (August 12, 1990). "News and Reviews". The Southern Illinoisan. Carbondale, Illinois. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Smith, Andrew. "Hellgate (1990)". Popcorn Pictures.co.uk. Andrew Smith. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ Weldon, Michael (1996). The Psychotronic Video Guide. Macmillan. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-312-13149-4.
- ^ Clark, Graeme. "Hellgate Review (1989)". The Spinning Image.co.uk. Graeme Clark. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ Schwartz, Dennis. "hellgate". Sover.net. Dennis Schwartz. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
External links
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