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Hell House

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Hell House reviews
64
7.5 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 7 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 2 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary

Written by:

Directed by: George Ratliff

Release Date:
Theatrical: November 15, 2002
DVD: May 27, 2003

Running Time: 85 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Tim Ferguson, Bill Humphrey, Pastor Hennesy, Virginia McAlester, and Lee McAlester

This documentary profiles a Pentecostal church in Texas that uses a Halloween haunted house, complete with fire and brimstone, to scare teenagers about issues such as AIDS, abortion and school shootings.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The result is a lively, insightful look at multiple levels of self-delusion among people who truly believe their Halloween funhouse is making our fallen world a better place.

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75

New York Post V.A. Musetto

The scariest revelation in Ratliff's film is that the Texas Hell House has proved so popular that it's being copied all over the country. Heaven help us!

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75

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Scary, all right, but not for the reasons the Dallas church had in mind.

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70

Variety Dennis Harvey

Hell House is a slice of contempo life many viewers will find bizarre and disturbing, not necessarily in the precautionary-moral way its subjects intend. Briskly paced docu is well handled in tech departments.

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60

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

For anyone unfamiliar with pentacostal practices in general and theatrical phenomenon of Hell Houses in particular, it's an eye-opener.

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50

The New York Times Dave Kehr

As a director, Mr. Ratliff wisely rejects the temptation to make fun of his subjects, most of whom seem to believe sincerely that they are doing the work of God.

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50

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Lookin' for sin, American-style? Try Hell House, which documents the cautionary Christian spook-a-rama of the same name.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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