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Hell House (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Hell House' is a 2002 documentary that was directed by George Ratliff that focuses on the idea of a hell house, a Christian-themed haunted attraction, in Cedar Hill, Texas. The film follows the youth group of the Cedar Hill Trinity Church, documenting the work involved in creating the hell house, the performances themselves, and the personal lives of some of the participants.
Reception
The film holds a rating of 94% "certified fresh" on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 34 reviews. A reviewer for the 'New York Times' "Through such generalizations are destructive stereotypes born, on both the left and the right."
Motivation for film
NPR interviewed Ratliff, the director, who said the motivation for making the documentary was to display the Christian right in the United States. The documentary films the annual Halloween show at the Assemblies of God church. Ratliff said the "Hell House" was invented by this church and it has been franchised, with "Hell Houses" now all over the world. The Assemblies of God, annual Halloween "Hell House", on which the documentary film is based on, is a "fire and brimstone" show with a death scene, followed by a trip to hell, immediately followed by an invitation to viewers to accept Christ and save their soul. Aside from an HIV death scene, and an abortion scene, there are school shooting, date rape, suicide, and drunk driving accident death scenes.
References
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