Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: A girl and her friends are stalked by a killer at a horror-themed amusement park.
Review: As I mentioned with "Haunt," there are a ton of movies about horror attractions having real killers in them. That's pretty much their entire premise. In the case of "Hell Fest," the killer does come into the park independently, but you get the gist of things. On the bright side, the Hell Fest location itself is really cool--bordering more on an amusement park than a typical haunt. This was definitely the highlight of the film since it was fun watching the characters go through such an elaborate setup. If this is based on a real place then I want to go!
In essence, "Hell Fest" is mediocre slasher fare. My main gripe lies with the killer being too omniscient and seemingly teleporting. For a film that's final "twist" is showing that the killer is just a regular family man when the mask comes off, how do you throw realism out the window as you go? This guy always knows where the main characters are, how to get ahead of them, knows the inner workings of the park, and has the same damn costume as other people in the park too?! Come on, son, this is absurd. Others might be able to ignore this if the story can deliver the slasher goodness but it doesn't. There are only a handful of kills, and they're quite tame by slasher standards. The filmmakers focus more on the stalking which could have worked, but this guy ain't Michael Myers lurking in the shadows.
Of course, it's not all bad. As mentioned, the park is awesome and offers a large variety of horror scenarios. If anything, the park entertained me more than whatever was going on with the main cast. In fairness, this group was acceptable in their roles; they could pass for realistic friends especially when half were just boyfriends to the main chicks. You have a cameo by Tony Todd which was nice, and his voice is heard all throughout the movie in recordings. Finally, I did like that final reveal even if it's the loosest of twists--if you can even consider it a twist; a real killer would have a normal life to some degree.
Overall, "Hell Fest" isn't going to feel original, however, the core premise can be entertaining enough. The look and design of the horror attraction is probably worth the view alone, but don't expect to be wowed by the slasher elements. Likewise, if you're looking for an actual scary movie, or one with any kind of real tension, then look elsewhere. If you've watched the trailer for "Hell Fest" then you already know what kind of ride you're in for. Maybe check it out this Halloween for a movie marathon--make it the first of the night while people are still settling in and getting their food since you won't need to pay attention much to get the story.
Notable Moment: This isn't the best, but it sure was the most ludicrous scene--when a bunch of people, wearing the exact same mask/hoodie combo of the killer, mess with the main girl. Yeaaaah, okaaaay. Should have called this movie Contrivance Fest.
Final Rating: 5.5/10
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