Bell From Hell

Bell From Hell (sometimes listed with an "A" or "The" at the front and sometimes without either one) is a movie about insanity and incest. Some see it as allegory which may be true, but I don’t know enough about the societal context to have any appreciation for such things so it’s lost on me. So are most of the elements of the movie.

John is just being released from a mental institution where he has been kept at the behest of his aunt. Does he deserve to be there or is his aunt carrying out a scheme that will allow her access to John’s inheritance?

It’s hard to say because after seeing some of the cruel and extreme practical jokes John plays on people it looks like he might really have some screws loose. He will use his talents at these jokes to take his revenge on his family which includes 3 beautiful cousins he wants to get naked.

The movie as a whole showed promise, and apparently many people think it delivers. I do not. I do like the portrayal of the questionable sanity of John and the lengths he will go to play a prank. I appreciate that the story does not go in expected directions. Yet, taken all together the result is unsatisfying.

Let me talk about the ending while trying not to give away too much. The atmosphere here is tremendous and outstanding. In and of itself the last scene in the haunted house has all the makings of an excellent film. However, the implications of it don’t really make a whole lot of sense to the plot as a whole and deal only with a secondary plot conflict rather than the primary one of the twisted family. It almost feels like a separate, though related, story except that the film is not formatted as a presentation of individual stories.

Beyond that, scenes often feel choppy and rushed. For example, there’s a slaughterhouse scene near the beginning. The purpose of it is eventually explained for the most part and has a strong payoff later on, but initially I had no idea that this was supposed to be a job John had taken before returning home (after release from the institution), worked at for a while, then quit. Initially it just seemed like a random and unimportant scene. While I do understand it now after the fact, it could have been portrayed much, much better. Such is the case with numerous plot elements, but that’s the best example to give without spoiling too much.

I got annoyed with the "Frere Jacques” song being sung as long as it is as many times as it is. A line or two of it might have been kind of creepy, but several minutes of it every half hour just becomes annoying.

I won't say it's all bad, though. Some of the cast, particularly Viveca Lindfors, is not bad. John's pranks are twisted and do a good job of calling his sanity into question rather than just allowing us to unquestionably assume his aunt (Viveca) is an evil manipulator. And, as I've already mentioned, I do enjoy the last scene even if it feels out of place in the story. If the whole movie had been done more like this scene I might have enjoyed it much more.

MORALITY:

I’ve seen 2 versions of the movie. One of them edits out one of the more disturbing scenes containing most of the questionable content while the other include it. The scene includes quick but graphic shots of violence against animals and 3 nude females for a prolonged length of time.

Both versions that I've seen also include a couple of very quick shots of female nudity in some artistic photography. There is some sexuality including rape and themes of incest between cousins.

There’s a little bit of violence throughout and some mild strong language.

SPIRITUALITY:

The focus here is on the darkness that can exist in humans. We can do pretty awful things to each other if we think we can get something out of it for ourselves. Thank God He doesn't just leave us to our own devices.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

While not terribly impressed I don't hate the movie. It has its interesting moments, and the cast is mildly engaging. Some viewers seem to really like Bell From Hell so by all means check it out if it sounds interesting. I just don't recommend putting a lot of effort into finding it.

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