Hell House
My new GreenCine account has been hooking me up with some sweet documentaries lately. Last night I watched the horrifying Hell House. Forget all these ‘The Grudge style hollywood horror films, this is the real thing. The film follows the Pentecostal congregation at Trinity Church in Ceder Hills Texas, as they gear up for their annual Halloween haunted house. Only this church sponsored scared-straight style haunted house is on a mission from god. Each room of the house depicts a scene where sinners slide down the slippery slope of the occult. In each room somebody gets killed (usually shot with a gun) cause they were a homosexual, had an abortion, or engaged in online dating (~shudder~). And while the production of the haunted house is hilarious in a ‘Waiting for Guffman’ meets ‘Spinal Tap’ community theater kind of way, the leaders of the church and the power they have over the slack-jawed congregation of Trinity Church are entirely frightening in a not so funny Jim Jones kinda way. In the last room of the haunted house each tour is confronted by this military-drill-sergeant-reject-cum-high-school-football-coach who puts the fear in ’em and then gives each group six seconds to choose to go to hell or heaven. Heaven in this case is a ghetto-ass broken door that leads into a cramped fluorescent lit room with bad furniture. Here attendants of the church wait to pray with you and then have you sign a document showing you’ve converted to the church. Hell on the other hand is the door that leads out of the damn house. It’s a simple choice – purple Kool-Aid or no purple Kool-aid?

NPR has some good clips from the film.

Also, band of the day, show poster of the day, photo of the day, and stencil of the day.

R.I.P. the original man to kick it ‘Root Down‘ – Jimmy Smith.