Liliths Hell — Liliths Hell(DVD)
The release appears on unrated region free DVD, with a small selection of interviews with the cast & crew. Lilith's Hell was made in 2015, and was an Italian production- mixing together English & (subtitled) Italian language – the film was directed by first time director Vincenzo Petrarolo, who also takes the lead role of Marco. The film's plot tells of producer Marco, and brit writer/ director Ryan (Marcus J. Cotterell) who goes to an isolated house outside of Rome- they are soon joined by camera-man & two actresses. The group are planning to make a found footage film about a group of people trapped in a house, which is been stalked outside by a killer- & along the way the cast landing-up having to result to cannibalism. But instead, they awaken the demon of Lilith, who possesses first one woman after another.
The idea of the Lilith demon from Jewish mythology taking out its vengeance on the horny director, producer & cameraman is quite interesting; though in the film it’s not really played on enough or developed enough. Also, the few snide swipes & comments about the found footage genre and its history are amusing. But sadly more often than not the film comes off as a crossbreed of Rec- with the demonic possessions & attacks taking place in either half-lit or near complete darkness. And Paranormal Activity- with the regular use of often quite long shots taken from fixed cameras in each of the rooms.
Acting wise it’s very highly mixed- Petrarolo is passable as the sleazy producer, Cotterell as the British director is less convincing and more than a little grating. The two women are not really given much character/ development, so their performances are decidedly forgettable, and Deodato may well be a great director of shocking films, but he’s more than a little wooden & stilted here.
On the most positive/ plus side of things- when demon shit does hit the fan, that’s done quite effectively- with a rape in a pool going nasty & gory. And as the film clicks into the horror meat- there’s often a good edge of tension to proceedings, though it’s often either too dark or the action is happening too fast to have a full & desired impact.
On the whole, I can’t really recommend Lilith's Hell, as there’s not enough here that’s very original, distinctive or really shocking. So unless you’re a big fan of the found footage genre, and fancy seeing what an Italian take on the genre might fare- it’s best passing this by.