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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