Gehenna: Where Death Lives (2016)

Movie Name/Year:  Gehenna: Where Death Lives (2016)

Tagline:  Some fates are far worse than death.

Genre:  Horror, Thriller, Mystery

Length: 105 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: AMG Entertainment, Uncork'd Entertainment

Producers: Albert Avramovic, Wesley Cannon, Darren Collinson, Sultan Saeed Al Darmaki, Tony Del Cid, Andrei Dunca, Helena Ellison, Susan Ferraro-Gardetto, Mark W. Hall, Eric M. Johnson, Koodae Kim, Nathan Lindgren, Royce Ly, Carlos Macera, Kee Saik Meng, Mitsuaki Munegumi, Lucas Newton, Christopher Pellegrini, Dale Poniewaz, Doug Roos, Mari Sakamoto, Shaun Smith, Richard Southard, Yu-Hao Su, Chris Vick, Laurie L. Wee, Paul Wee, Deborah Yasment, Eugen Zernickel

Director: Hiroshi Katagiri

Writer: Hiroshi Katagiri, Nathan Long, Brad Palmer

Actors: Lance Henriksen, Patrick Gorman, Simon Phillips, Sean Sprawling, Justin Gordon, Katherine Wallace, Eva Swan, Matthew Edward Hegstrom, Doug Jones

Blurb from Netflix: Developers looking for a location to build a resort on Saipan stumble into a subterranean bunker from WWII where an evil force lies in wait.

Cat’s Point of View:

This film was rather bewildering.

In fairness, it could be something as simple as my fatigue level ensuring that I wasn’t sharp enough to appreciate the nuances of the story. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if that would have made any difference if it were otherwise. The concept was pretty clear – I was just a bit underwhelmed.

I was a bit impressed to learn that this movie was Kickstarter-funded. The overall production quality was pretty outstanding, when taking that into consideration.  I was also pretty jazzed to see Lance Henriksen (Stung, Harbinger Down, The Blacklist) involved with the project. I can’t help but wish he had a more expansive role, however.

The practical effects were generally pretty good, and the CGI was also pretty on par. There were even respectable performances here and there. Had the experience as a whole not clawed me down into the land of meh, I probably would have bought what they were selling. 

I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching a slightly less realized and culturally transplanted version of As Above, So Below (2014).

I really hate sounding like a jaded ‘been there, done that, got the t-shirt’ person; but in this case, there’s not much else to be done. Rather than beating the dead horse, though, I can cut to the chase by saying it is unlikely that I’ll be recommending this movie any time in the foreseeable future. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 50%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 59%

Metascore – none

Metacritic User Score – none

IMDB Score – 5/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5

Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R

P.S. There is a short scene following the credits.

Movie Trailer: