Hellbride

Released by: Brain Damage Films/Freemantle Entertainment
Released on: March 29, 2010.
Director: Pat Higgins
Cast: Neil Andrews, James Fisher, Cy Henty, Rebecca Herod, Eleanor James, James Kavaz
Year: 2007
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The Movie:

Written and directed by Pat Higgins, Hellbride is an unlikely romantic comedy with elements of a standard mob movie and a few horror movie twists thrown in. It's obviously been made fast and cheap and without the aid of super professional actors, but as screwy as the whole thing might sound, it's not without flashes of interest.

The story starts in a pawn shop where a would-be comic named Lee (James Fisher) finds the ring he's been looking for. With the ring in hand, he's planning to propose to his foxy girlfriend, Nicole (Rebecca Meadows). Despite his unorthodox proposal methods, she happily accepts and before you know it, her father, who is in a whole lot of debt and in some trouble of his own, offers up his support for their upcoming nuptials. Lee's right hand man, Ricky (Oli Wilkinson), starts planning the bachelor party and things are moving along quite nicely, until strange things start happening.

What neither Nicole nor Lee realizes is that the ring she now wears once belonged to a murderess that was responsible for the deaths of a few members of her own wedding party. The ring, as such, is a bit cursed and continues to wreak havoc wherever it goes. When the body of a dead mobster shows up in her dad's office, she figures something is amiss but she and her maid of honor, Carly (Natalie Milner) do what anyone in need of help would do, and that's enlist the aid Natalie's cousin Sinclair (Cy Henty), a pseudo occult expert with a rampant libido, who stops the evil spirit and tells Nicole in no uncertain terms to make sure no more blood gets on the ring. This proves to be tougher than it sounds when the dead mobster's co-workers show up looking for payback…

As a horror film, Hellbride stinks. In that regard it's not tense, it's not scary, and it's not really all that interesting. That said, throwing in the mobster elements and relationship quirks that Lee and Nicole have to deal with while sorting out their dilemma proves to be a fair bit more interesting than it probably really should have been. On paper the film sounds like a train wreck, but Patt Higgin's script more often than not makes it work. Some crass humor feels a bit out of place here and there but usually the film avoids those missteps and is better for it.

The acting is fairly typical for a low budget picture. It's not going to really wow you, but James Fisher and Rebecca Meadows both prove to be quite capable of handling the material effectively. The supporting players aren't as strong, but the leads do a fine job here. The effects are obviously limited and it's hard not to notice some low budget stumbling blocks popping up here and there but if this isn't an example of a modern independent classic, it's at least entertaining.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The anamorphic widescreen 1.78.1 transfer is soft and murky and looks very much like the victim of a standards conversion. The shot on video picture shows some periodic ghosting and color fluctuations that result in a somewhat unstable picture. The image is interlaced, but that's not as big a deal as the blurriness that is frequent throughout.

The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, which comes without any subtitles or alternate language tracks, is about what you'd expect for a low budget cheapie. It's a little hollow in spots but the dialogue is clear and easy enough to follow. No hiss or distortion problems, but not much in the way of impressive channel separation to note. Not a bad mix, but nothing to write home about.

The biggest and best of the extras on the disc is a commentary track from writer/director Pat Higgins, who approaches his film pretty honestly and evidently has no qualms about telling it like it is. He notes what works and what doesn't, talks about where some of the inspiration for the film came from, and tells some interesting stories from the low budget trenches. Higgins is joined by his cinematographer, Alan Ronald, who talks about some of the more technical aspects, and the pair has a good vibe going. This carries over to the making of featurette, which runs about nine and a half minutes which covers much of the same ground.

Rounding out the extras are a trailer for the feature, a two minute blooper reel, three minutes of inconsequential deleted scenes, menus and chapter stops.

The Final Word:

A moderately amusing low budget horror comedy, Hellbride is entertaining enough despite its obvious flaws. The weak transfer on the disc doesn't do the film any favors, however some decent supplements go some way towards making up for that. And you can't argue with the price….