Saipan
is part of the Northern Mariana Islands, an American commonwealth, but it has a
history of Spanish colonialism, so there has to be plenty of superstition
there. It was also occupied by the Imperial Japanese military, for extra bad
karma. Alas, the evil mojo will encompass an honest real estate develop when she
insists on investigating an undisclosed WWII bunker (always a bad idea) in
Hiroshi Katagiri’s Gehenna: Where Death
Lives (trailer
here),
which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.
Paulina
works for Lance Henriksen (known as “Morgan” in this drive-by cameo), so you
know she has to take her job seriously. They are looking to develop a nice
track of unspoiled beach-front real estate, but something about the area makes
the locals skittish. Alan, the title-holder, is also a complete sleazebag, so
she insists on doing a personal inspection with her team. Lo and behold, they
find a vast network of Japanese bunkers that were previously undisclosed. Of
course, they promptly get locked in down there.
Initially,
they suspect troublemaking activists, but it quickly becomes apparent something
uncanny is afoot. Everyone starts having guilt trippy hallucinations. Plus, the
bunker has changed in ways that makes Tyler, the sensitive surveyor, suspect
they are in some sort of time warp. Bad things are down there, including Doug
Jones in characteristically heavy make-up, but their own mounting derangement could
be a more pressing danger, especially the already sociopathic Alan.
Despite
Doug Jones doing his modern Lon Chaney thing, Gehenna is a pretty low rent affair. There is a lot of racing
around corridors that obviously isn’t going to get anyone anywhere. However,
Katagiri manages to keep the energy up and he incorporates some nice touches
that are supposedly inspired by island folklore.
Believe
it or not, Eva Swan and Justin Gordon are not bad as Paulina and Tyler, the
colleagues who would be lovers, were it not for their separate tragic histories.
Simon Phillips definitely came to chew the scenery as obnoxious Alan, but Sean
Sprawling is a bit shticky as his reluctant flunky, Pepe.
Gehenna is not exactly an
actor’s showcase (big surprise), but there are some suitably macabre practical
effects and creepy make-up. Katagiri is a special effects artist who has worked
on some big Hollywood productions, so he clearly wanted a vehicle that would
serve his talents. Plus, the exotic Saipan setting is a bit of a new wrinkle.
The resulting film is hardly a classic, but it will be weirdly appealing to
real genre fans (who should note there is a somewhat amusing stinger). Recommended
as a time-filler for horror fans, Gehenna
opens this Friday (5/4) in LA at the Laemmle Monica Film Center and
simultaneously releases on VOD, where its real life will be.
