I was super excited about Gehenna, the effects are top notch and the film quality is good. So why isn’t Gehenna rated a 5? Well the problem lies in a few different elements of the movie. In the originality category, the movie missed the mark. The film’s twist is almost identical to that of Devil’s Pass, which was a complete let down. I was also very disappointed in the fact that Pepe (Sean Sprawling), a native of the island, is portrayed as a total idiot and added, at best, some comic relief to the film. The portrayal of the locals through Pepe is disrespectful and unwarranted. The film also had many different themes that at times proved to be confusing and unnecessary. The film offers some strong story lines that had they been the focus of the film it would have made for a better movie, but instead the writers felt compelled to include many different stories, that diluted the overall impression of the film.
CAST: Eva Swan (Paulina) / Simon Phillips (Alan) / Doug Jones (Creepy Old Man) / Justin Gordon (Tyler) / Matthew Hegstrom (Dave) / Sean Sprawling (Pepe)
DIRECTOR: Hiroshi Katagiri
SCREENWRITER: Hiroshi Katagiri