CommentsXp Best movie ever!

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Anthony Pittore III (Shattered_Wake) More than any horror or exploitation film ever have, films like 'Jesus Camp,' 'The Most Hated Family in America,' and 'Fall From Grace' have terrified me to no end. I am not a religious man by any means and haven't been since I was a teen, but I do respect those who use their religion as intended: For good. However, if one uses their religion to scare others into faith, what good is it? Religion is meant to guide, help, and comfort. . . not to frighten and disturb. Well, not any more at least.'Hell House' joins the ranks of the above-mentioned titles as a truly frightening, shocking, and occasionally heartbreaking look at a church-run Halloween event in suburban Texas that specializes in showing thousands of visitors each year what their fates are if they continue on with their 'evil ways.' Featuring such scenes as a grotesque abortion, gang rape, the Columbine shooting, and drunk drivers, 'Hell House' looks to 'scare straight' their guests to keep them on the 'righteous path towards Salvation.' Right.Unlike documentaries like 'The Most Hated Family in America' and 'Jesus Camp,' this piece was done by the actual creators of the House and, therefore, done by those in favour it. What's ironic about this is that it truly scares any one not in this group of creators into thinking these people are just, purely and simply, nutcases.I can't fault people for their beliefs. . . but sometimes you can take it a step too far. Regardless, the film is entertaining and well done.Final Verdict: 7.5/10.-AP3-

human-us To quickly summarize what I believe is the 'message' one may get from viewing this film: All you need to do is change the geographical location and name of the 'God' and you've got a typical fundamentalist Madras school in the Middle East. What's on display here is a sad and horrific waste of young human minds.To witness, in some awe, where impressionable minds can be lead by twisted religious quacks makes this film most definitely worth seeing -- and can admirably serve as a 'wake up call' for modern civilization; do you know where your children are? Be afraid.H.U.

ThurstonHunger I should say at first that I predict documentary films will undergo the cash infusion that Miramax and others have brought to "independent" films over the past 15 years. The time is right especially with the interest in more vacuous reality programming on TV. And yes that will definitely be a mixed blessing.Documentarian George Ratliff gets pretty open access to this incredible phenomenon of a church exploiting media exploitation. This film offers no catharsis for us the viewers, but there's catharsis aplenty for the actors portraying various "stations of the crass" at Trinity's haunted house.Others here have tried to apply rationality and argue against the beliefs of the church members. But I think that is not the point of this film, driven home by the strident sophistry of the young lad in the "Fear Factory" t-shirt with the off-duty police officer. Now that was hell for me.Fighting fear with fear, will only result in more fear. And I'm always leery of those who are so obsessed with their "evil" enemies. Meanwhile every generation thinks they are on the brink of the apocalypse, something I take as confirmation of the Church of the Doubting Thomas.While the end of the film talks about the importance of spending time with Jesus, the revelation for me here is spending time with other people. Especially spending time with those we may be predisposed to dislike or dismiss. The glimpses of humanity in the young girl who confronts her rapist, and the man whose wife has deserted him, these show a most amazing grace to me. And yes, I know we are only hearing their sides to the story...still...how can you not watch them both and wish them their own private happy endings.Personally, I still look forward to living on the Planet of the Agnostics. I hope we'll still be on friendly terms with the WWF galaxy and its various religious planets.This is a film that might be interesting (or disastrous) to see with a wide variety of folks. It's neither a trick, nor a treat...but I give it a 6/10

artstupid The filmmakers do a good job of letting the irony reveal itself without hitting you over the head with the obvious connection of the Christian religion's entire doctrine being based on fear. What is revealed is something a little different than the typical greed motivation of most religions. Then again the hiearchy of these nuts isn't really explored. You do get to see the sheer ignorance, pain and fears that the Trinity Church members experience due to their own oppressive beliefs. There just wasn't enough background into the social and economic status of the region to paint a clear picture.The film could benefit with a trim to the current content and the editing could have been a little more professional. There were some pretty rough audio cuts from one segment to the next.A very funny moment in the film is at the end when a naive teenage member of these kooks states her belief that the world has never been this horrible and the end is near. I only wish she could of been transplanted to a Nazi death camp or Camp 751 in China during WWII. Gee, if they had only excepted Jesus. Ha! Way to stupid to get any serious thinker in an uproar. But, when it's all said and done, I can't recommend this. Not due to it's goofy content. It's just not very good. The film did remind me of one thing: It sure is embarrassing being an American.