The Wicked Go to Hell Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Wicked Go to Hell Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 16, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Wicked Games: Three Films by Robert Hossein set from Radiance Films.

As an actor, Robert Hossein is probably best remembered on this side of the pond for his supporting role in Jules Dassin's iconic Rififi, but as a so-called "multi-hyphenate" he had a rather interesting career as both a writer and director, including the three films Radiance has aggregated in this appealing new collection. The set includes The Wicked Go to Hell, Hossein's debut as director and (co-)writer, which came out in 1955, the same year as Rififi. After a 1956 effort called Pardonnez nos offences, Hossein took on sole writing credit in addition to directing with 1959's Nude in a White Car (as it's titled here, though there are multiple variant titles, including the original French Toi, le venin). Two other interstitial films, 1959's Double Agents and 1960's Les scélérats, appeared before the final film offered in this triptych, 1961's The Taste of Violence. Two of the three films in this set, as well as some of Hossein's other efforts, are based on novels by Frédéric Dard.

The Wicked Go to Hell opens with a fascinating if slightly confounding montage which opens with scenes of inmates being assembled in some kind of huge prison facility for what may be a religious service, and then a guillotine being lowered and a cigarette butt being passed between conspirators (?) which after some more intervening intrigue then leads to a quasi-Morse code amongst those prisoners letting their cohabitators know that one of two inmates, Macquart (Henri Vidal) or Rudel (Serge Reggiani), is likely a spy and/or informant who has ratted out the poor soul at the bottom of that aforementioned guillotine. Things go from bad to worse for the pair, having been so pegged, and in an expertly choreographed and edited sequence, they make a break for it.

They actually seem to have managed to get to some kind of idyll at an isolated house by a beach where they encounter the perhaps portentously named Eva (Marina Vlady, Hossein's wife at the time), the first woman they've been around in quite some time. This already ominous feeling ménage à trois goes about the way most might expect with regard to the men, but there's a somewhat surprising "reveal" about Eva that then casts a new light on things, even if an unlikely "coincidence" undergirds things.

This is an incredibly stylish and often quite tense piece with outstanding performances from its central trio (Hossein is consigned to a supporting role, probably intentionally on his part since he was undertaking his first directorial assignment). There's a really interesting use of music literally and figuratively accompanying compellingly edited vignettes which reminded me quite strongly of Powell and Pressburger's "composed film". What's structurally just as interesting here, though, is how the film seems be a more or less standard "prison escape" tale with a question as to which of two characters might be a "snitch", before it segues into something considerably more philosophical and perhaps even metaphysical as the characters careen toward tragedy.

The Wicked Go to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Wicked Go to Hell is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Radiance's insert booklet lumps the three films together for pretty minimal information on the provenance of the transfers:

Each film in this collection was restored in 2K by Gaumont. Additional colour correction was applied to The Taste of Violence by Radiance for this release. The films were supplied to Radiance Films as digital files and are presented in the original aspect ratio.

This is a great looking transfer overall, with appealing contrast and some great fine detail levels in brightly lit close-ups in particular. Aside from detailing on (occasionally wounded) faces and/or bodies, textures once the two get to the seaside and Eva on things like her hut or the beach itself are typically rendered precisely. Some midrange shots are admittedly a bit on the fuzzy side and lack the nice clarity of closer framings. Some of the darkest material may not offer a wealth of shadow definition, but that may actually boost general angst levels. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

The Wicked Go to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Wicked Go to Hell features a nice sounding LPCM Mono track in the original French. There's occasional background hiss and the like that can be heard, but it's never overly problematic. A melancholy score by Hossein's father André (working under the pseudonym André Gosselain) sounds nicely moody. Sound effects, especially some of the outdoor material, resonate believably. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Wicked Go to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Tim Lucas


• Picking Strawberries (HD; 14:52) is a really interesting piece by historian Lucas Balbo covering the production of the film and including archival footage with Robert Hossein and Jean Rollin.


• Behind Marked Eyes: The Cinematic Stare of Robert Hossein (HD; 27:04) is another well written piece by Howard S. Berger looking at the career of Robert Hossein.


• Trailer (HD; 3:19)

The Wicked Go to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hossein comes out of the directorial gate with really commendable style and grit, even if the film may be overly contrived by half. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements are outstanding. Recommended.