VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Hell House (2002)
QQQ1/2

Texas filmmaker George Ratliff takes viewers behind the walls of a haunted house that's anything but ordinary. This eye-opening documentary sheds light on the Dallas Trinity Assembly of God Church's annual Hell House -- a religiously driven Halloween alternative in which guests are treated to gory, horrific depictions of suicide, sex, drug use, abortion and homosexuality, while revealing the inevitable damnation that supposedly awaits those who give in to such "sins." Ratliff spent a year with organizers, capturing everything from the competitive auditions for teens vying to play tortured souls to the varied reactions of visitors. At times infuriating and other times hilarious, the film wisely refrains from passing judgment, allowing the planners and detractors to speak for themselves.

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