I had seen Ryuhei Kitamura's phenomenal "Versus" before this, so my expectations were a bit different than what I ended up seeing...
But "Down To Hell" is one interesting little movie.
The story is simple - and the dialogue is kept to a minimum. Basically, a man is kidnapped by 4 other men, and is forced in a "survival game" through the woods.
Here, he is given a 10 minute head start, and gets three choices of how to end the game. 1) He finds a way to escape, regardless of the fact that they're miles from the nearest road. 2) He kills the four of them, or 3) He himself is killed, and "escapes to hell" (hence the title.)
*SPOILERS!!!* The poor guy doesn't last too long, and after a few close calls, actually gets killed after a throat-slitting and a brutal beating with a chain. The murderer turns his attention for a moment, and when he looks back - THE CORPSE IS GONE! Now, roles are reversed as the hunters become the hunted of a vengeful cadaver. *SPOILERS OVER!*
While watching this, you can almost see Kitamura's style developing through the filming - by the end, the kinetic camera movements and wild editing definitely foreshadow the look of "Versus", which actually helps it immensely. This movie clocks in rather short, at just under an hour... But it's best that way. Personally, I'm surprised they got as much film time out of it as they did. Regardless, it's worth a look if you loved Versus - but buy it cheap if possible. A cool feature on the DVD is a teaser trailer for "Versus", or as it was first called "Down 2 Hell." Just be warned... It IS seizure-inducing - they love that strobelight.
But "Down To Hell" is one interesting little movie.
The story is simple - and the dialogue is kept to a minimum. Basically, a man is kidnapped by 4 other men, and is forced in a "survival game" through the woods.
Here, he is given a 10 minute head start, and gets three choices of how to end the game. 1) He finds a way to escape, regardless of the fact that they're miles from the nearest road. 2) He kills the four of them, or 3) He himself is killed, and "escapes to hell" (hence the title.)
*SPOILERS!!!* The poor guy doesn't last too long, and after a few close calls, actually gets killed after a throat-slitting and a brutal beating with a chain. The murderer turns his attention for a moment, and when he looks back - THE CORPSE IS GONE! Now, roles are reversed as the hunters become the hunted of a vengeful cadaver. *SPOILERS OVER!*
While watching this, you can almost see Kitamura's style developing through the filming - by the end, the kinetic camera movements and wild editing definitely foreshadow the look of "Versus", which actually helps it immensely. This movie clocks in rather short, at just under an hour... But it's best that way. Personally, I'm surprised they got as much film time out of it as they did. Regardless, it's worth a look if you loved Versus - but buy it cheap if possible. A cool feature on the DVD is a teaser trailer for "Versus", or as it was first called "Down 2 Hell." Just be warned... It IS seizure-inducing - they love that strobelight.