6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Farmer Vincent kidnaps unsuspecting travellers and is burying them in his garden. Unfortunately for his victims, they are not dead.
Starring: Rory Calhoun (I), Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman JackHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | 6% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
1980’s “Motel Hell” entered the box office race at a special time in horror history, trying to find an audience for the Halloween holiday after “Friday the 13th” managed to dominate the early summer, inspiring studios to scramble for similar low-budget endeavors. Writers Robert and Steven-Charles Jaffe weren’t looking to crank out yet another slasher offering with the picture, trying to infuse the material with as much humor as they could get away with, delivering a screen nightmare that’s more about oddity than offing victims. Studio interests eventually tried to bend “Motel Hell” into a more generic direction, but the feature, while not really a laugh-out-loud viewing experience, is quite inventive in the ghoulishness department, representing a last gasp of storytelling eccentricity before the industry demanded nothing but “Friday the 13th” knockoffs.
"Motel Hell" was originally released on Blu-ray in 2014, with Shout Factory using an older scan for the disc. The company returns to the title in 2020 with a "New 4K transfer from the original camera negative." The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is a bold leap forward in terms of clarity and film-like grain, with the viewing experience offering a pleasingly cinematic appearance. Detail emerges easily, surveying the gruesome particulars of the property, including the bloody interiors of the smokehouse and the eerie Secret Garden. Hotel visits maintain decorative additions, and costuming is fibrous. Facial particulars are well defined, as are makeup effects. Exterior distances are ideal in dimension. Colors come through with precision, with bright greenery and bold lighting with hotel signage and hypno-wheel action. Skintones are natural. Costuming favors deep reds and denim blues. Some mild fluctuation is found at the 58:05 mark. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in strong shape.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix supplies a crisp understanding of dialogue exchanges, securing performances and emotional surges, while the ugly gurgle of the Secret Garden remains in full effect throughout the listening event. Scoring supports with a wider power, offering a warmer orchestral sound and sharper instrumentation for suspense purposes. Atmospherics are distinct, along with sound effects, giving violence some needed emphasis.
"Motel Hell" was slightly battered around by studio demands, and the final cut reflects some hesitation, with comedy coming through with full cartoon speed at times, while other scenes whiff when attempting slyness. It's not an especially riotous endeavor, struggling with a few subplots and performances, but it connects when it decides to explore the horror of Vincent's body-harvesting operation. Connor can't quite connect the dots on the community effort, especially with the character of Terry (Nina Axelrod), an unnecessary addition (she's just a baffling creation all around), but he gives the smokehouse adventure his full attention, questing to create an approachable movie about the destruction and consumption of human beings. That's no easy task, making "Motel Hell" an unusual success story as it tries to be a weirder, atmospheric offering of bodily harm and backwoods madness.
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