Hell and Back

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Under the Radar

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This is what I'd deem to be a sort of hidden gem for fans of raunchy, low-brow comedy. And honestly, I fall into the category, myself. I wouldn't even deem them "guilty pleasures" so much as over the top mindless fun. These movies aren't exactly going for Oscars, anyway, so who cares? Some are worse than others, but some strike just the right balance. For me, 'Hell and Back', is one of the latter.

A group of three friends Remy (Nick Swardson), Augie (T.J. Miller) and Curt (Rob Riggle) work together to run a pier carnival that's losing business due to lack of interest. The bank ends up foreclosing the carnival. Frustrated, Remy visits fortune teller, Madame Zonar (Kerri Kenney-Silver) and takes a book of hers, with an animated picture of the Devil crying. He plans to put it on display in order to collect more money, believing that people will come to see a picture of the Devil crying.

One thing leads to another, and Curt ends up taking a blood oath for a mint, using the picture, and ends up being dragged into Hell for it, eventually meeting and seemingly even befriending the Devil, himself (Bob Odenkirk). However, unless a replacement can be found, the Devil still plans to ritualistically sacrifice Curt, do to his broken blood oath.

Naturally, Remy and Augie head down there as well, in an attempt to rescue their friend. They soon come across the likes of Deema (Mila Kunis) who promises to help them, as long as they help her find Orpheus (Danny McBride - who actually does some great voice acting here). Anyway, it gets pretty off-the-wall. It's not knee-slapping hilarious or anything, but I can't help but appreciate some of the dark humour used throughout the movie.

Do keep in mind that this is just me talking. Based on a grand total of 5 votes, this one has a shiny 0% on the Tomatometer, with a 33% audience rating (the bar I prefer, as I consider myself more of a critic for the people). So, if you wanna go by that, it's definitely not what we'd call a "good film".

And here's the thing, I can agree to several points on it, not least of which is the strong and suggestive language used for laughs. But guys, this is a movie that takes place in Hell. It's just my humble opinion, but it should be as mean-spirited as it is for the dark comedy that it's going for. On top of that, the animation is a style I have pretty much always appreciated - stop motion is hard and tedious work.

It's just one of those fun, and understandably bad films that I personally can't help but enjoy, myself. With that said, it's not something I'm gonna sit here and just recommend people go for. It gets pretty over the top in parts, and if you don't like some more suggestive themes, it might not be for you. But if you wanna press that big red button out of curiosity, it can be found on Netflix (at least in Canada). Try for yourself, but be sure to check your brain at the door.

3/5

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