They Found Hell (2015)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

A Major Disappointment

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I enjoy cliché over the top movies and I enjoy well written well directed movies. Casting can be hit or miss but with a good script and direction can be hidden well.Unfortunately the writing isn't quite cliché but uncomfortable. They use historical references without actually giving any real or fun bits from mythology.I tried very hard to like this movie but the motivations of the characters, the cheap hooks that fail to hook let me cringing for most of the film.It is a shame because this movie could have been great if there was more planning and time spent working on the nuances that get the view to care about the plot and characters.

Yes, this is a typical low-budget SyFy action horror movie. And yes,the actors are all unknowns. But...I had a good time watching it. Some college students perform an experiment in teleportation, but something goes very wrong. SPOILERS The movie starts with an explosion in Russia, leaving a distinctive crater. Then we move to some college students trying out their "transponder." Immediately they get pulled through a portal into what they believe is Hell. Interestingly, there is a gate with the sign from Dante's Inferno-"Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here". This ought to tell them that Wherever they are, it is not really Hell. It is a very messed up place, though. This is Hell portrayed as a Halloween Hell House or a Hell dimension from the Buffy/Angel-verse. The only problem is there are all manner of creatures trying to torture or kill them as they struggle to find a way to return to Earth. I have to agree with other reviewers that the cutaways back to the college, with a professor trying to get them back did not add much to it. The other thing that bothered me was that they kept saying things like "Oh My God!" and "Help me!", but not one of them thought to pray, or to call out to God for help. I got tired of them calling for help, but never calling to anyone specific. Who did they think was going to answer? Anyway, I still enjoyed the movie. It was not very good, but it kept moving, and I had to keep watching to see if anyone made it out. If you can see it for free, it might be worth a watch.

Conducting an experiment in the desert, a group of college students are thrust into a different dimension that is the literal personification of Hell and must find a way of navigating through the treacherous demons and creatures in order to get back to the surface.Despite some minor problems, this was quite an enjoyable and thrilling effort with a lot to like. The biggest thing to this one is the fact that it manages to get this one started off and going almost immediately with the opening dimensional rift found even before finishing the credits and then managing to get them down into the demonic levels not far afterward that manages to mean the pace here is truly frenetic and breakneck. That it means a lot of time here exploring this creepy location and encountering the creepy-looking creatures and demons throughout here is what really tends to drive this one, managing to further place a lot of action here as their continuous need to escape from the creatures really drives this one nicely. There's more action in here than expected because of this, with people being forced to run through thick overgrown forests to get away from the creatures lurking within the forest, a series of rooms designed for the dismemberment and disposal of bodies, a gloriously deceptive Gothic church that should've been a grand giveaway about the purposes of the scene, out into the woods to be chased by the dogs and down into the pit with the giant pendulum above them that serves as quite a nasty surprise throughout here, and with all these different locations and encounters throughout here there's just a frantic and never-ending assault of confrontations here. These are dark, chilling and take advantage of literature and history quite nicely by offering plenty of call-backs and nods to how Hell has been played up throughout the ages from the demons gathering bodies into fire pits, holding souls prisoner until the time to collect them and move them to torture pits guarded over by ravenous zombies and other demented ghouls which makes for a thrilling time throughout here. Combined with the strong make-up work on the creatures and the bloody deaths from the numerous kills here, there's a lot to like here without a whole lot of flaws. The only real flaw present in this one is the film's continuous flipping back to the adventures of the student and professor back on campus attempting to fix the ramifications of the experiment, which don't really seem all that vital or contribute much of anything to the film beyond simply taking time away from the group down in Hell by mainly spilling scientific psychobabble that doesn't make any sense. While it's necessary to show how they're attempting to get them back to the surface, the whole kidnapping and holding hostage angle mixed alongside these overly nonsensical scientific discussions aren't the way it should happen. Likewise, the CGI is a little troubling, following the same patterns as many of these Sci-Fi Channel originals but that's to be expected here and doesn't really hurt it the way the other one does.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Well, SyFy Channel movies have almost reached the level of special effects that theatrical movies had 20 years ago. Almost. To be honest, I think they are satisfied with the level of visual effects they are getting now, as the quality has not really improved in about 5 years. I'd say this one was on the high side of their scale though.Oh yes, the movie. We all know the drill here. A bunch of actors you've never heard of before, moan and lurch their way towards the realization that they aren't going to be the next Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. Chances are, you'll never see any of them again.The movie's concept is actually pretty decent. College students playing around with an experimental matter transporter gizmo accidentally open a hole to Hell. And they don't waste time getting there either. It was only about 5 minutes into this thing and we had our half dozen kids stumbling around in Hell, looking for a way out.It looks like a PG version of a crossed zombie/slasher flick, with demons doing the slashing. Nothing particularly exciting or new, and you certainly won't be scared or thrilled, but hey, it's SyFy. If you were expecting Oscar quality stuff, you wouldn't be watching a SyFy original film.We don't actually know if this is Hell, or another dimension the kids opened up. Although, if it's another dimension, it's one MESSED UP dimension. In the end, a college professor pulls out two of them, or maybe they got out on their own. One kid popped out in Russia for no reason I can fathom, (and just what happens to you if you die while in Hell? Where do you go then?). Nothing is explained and little makes sense. Congratulations, you and I just burnt two hours on another ridiculous SyFy movie.