Hellgate (1989 film)

Hellgate is a 1989 American–South African horror film directed by William A. Levey and written by Michael S. O'Rourke.[2] The film stars Ron Palillo, Abigail Wolcott and Carel Trichardt. It follows two young couples who become embroiled in the mystery of a desolate ghost town, Hellgate, where a young woman was kidnapped and murdered by a biker gang in 1959. It was released in the United States directly-to-video in August 1990 through Vidmark Entertainment.[3]

Hellgate
Promotional poster
Directed byWilliam A. Levey
Produced byAnant Singh
Screenplay byMichael S. O'Rourke
Starring
Music by
  • Barry Fasman
  • Dana Walden
CinematographyPeter Palmer
Edited by
  • Mark Baard
  • Chris Barnes
  • Max Lemon
Distributed byVidmark Entertainment[1]
Release date
  • December 1989 (1989-12) (United Kingdom, (Home Video))
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
South Africa
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A motorcycle gang kidnaps a young woman, Josie, from a diner and brutally kills her. Many years later, the girl's father finds a magic crystal that can bring the life back to dead objects.

Cast

  • Ron Palillo as Matt
  • Abigail Wolcott as Josie Carlyle
  • Carel Trichardt as Lucas Carlyle
  • Petrea Curran as Pam
  • Evan J. Klisser as Chuck
  • Joanne Warde as Bobby (as Joanne Ward)
  • Frank Notaro as Buzz (as Frank Notard)
  • Lance Vaughan as Zonk

Release

Hellgate was distributed on home video by New World in the United Kingdom in December 1989.[4]

Reception

Andrew Smith of Popcorn Pictures gave the film an abysmal score of 1/10, writing, "Hellgate isn’t just bad, it’s on the same ‘utterly terrible’ plane of existence as the likes of Troll and Raging Sharks. It's not a film you can even watch if you're curious about how awful it is. Just forget it ever existed."[5] Michael Weldon in The Psychotronic Video Guide gave the film a negative review, noting: "Ron Palillo (from Welcome Back, Kotter), who was nearly 40 at the time, stars in this awful, irritating teen horror movie."[6] Graeme Clark from The Spinning Image awarded the film 1/10 stars, calling it "utter garbage" and criticized the film's script, phony special effects, and acting.[7]

See also

References

  1. "Film Guide". Los Angeles Times. May 27, 1990. p. 28 via Newspapers.com.
  2. Fountain, Clarke. "Hellgate". Allrovi. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  3. Knight-Ridder News Service (August 12, 1990). "News and Reviews". The Southern Illinoisan. Carbondale, Illinois. p. 28 via Newspapers.com.
  4. Hayward, Anthony (1990). "Video Releases". Film Review 1990-1. Columbus Books Limited. p. 143. ISBN 0-86369-374-1.
  5. Smith, Andrew. "Hellgate (1990)". Popcorn Pictures.co.uk. Andrew Smith. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  6. Weldon, Michael (1996). The Psychotronic Video Guide. Macmillan. p. 259. ISBN 978-0-312-13149-4.
  7. Clark, Graeme. "Hellgate Review (1989)". The Spinning Image.co.uk. Graeme Clark. Retrieved 4 October 2018.


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