Hell Hole Review: A Fracking Fun Creature Feature

In This Is Spinal Tap, one of the rock band’s hits is called Hell Hole. The song’s lyrics capture a sentiment that fits perfectly with this amiable low-budget film by the Adams family, a self-taught group of filmmakers. The movie ticks all the necessary boxes for its genre, producing a mostly satisfying effect.

The horror subgenre here involves an eldritch beast rampage, reminiscent of HP Lovecraft, The Thing, or The Blob. These creatures often come from the skies or emerge from underneath the earth. In this story, it’s the latter: a group of environmentalists and a US-led fracking team stumble upon a freaky octopoid parasite while drilling in a remote part of Serbia. Quickly, the octopoid baby starts infiltrating their inner circles—quite literally.

The ensemble of potential victims includes John, played by co-writer-director John Adams, who pulls off a nice hardass cynic, and co-writer-director Toby Poser as Aunt Em, who also nails the hardass cynic role. Maximum Portman plays Em’s tagine-cooking nephew. The Serbian setting adds a colorful touch, with drone shots showcasing bombed-out communist-era architecture. These visuals hint at broader themes of power structures and hosts being invaded by parasitic entities.

Yet, it’s important not to read too much into the subtext. This film isn’t trying to be intellectual. Instead, it focuses on being an enjoyable creature feature, and it largely succeeds in this endeavor. Blending computer-generated effects with tangibly syrupy blood, Hell Hole feels like a modest TV show but likely made on a much smaller budget. This low-budget charm enhances its endearing quality.

A passion project alone isn’t enough to earn a film high marks. But when the final product is a committed piece of indie genre work with a fittingly silly sense of the macabre, it accomplishes its goal.

Hell Hole is available on Shudder and AMC+ from 23 August.