''Hellgate'' (originally titled ''Shadows'') is a 2011 American-Thai supernatural thriller directed and written by

John Penney John Penney is an American film producer, screenwriter and director who has been working in the horror genre for over thirty years. He has created material for, and been involved in, a range of subgenres, including zombie movies ('' Return of t ...

, starring

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. H ...

and

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

. Elwes plays the sole survivor of a car crash who, upon seeing ghosts, seeks help from a spiritual guru (Hurt).

Plot

Jeff Mathews, an American businessman, is involved in a car crash in

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. When he wakes up in a hospital, his nurse, Choi Luang, informs him that his wife Som and son Kyle have died. Inexplicably, Mathews can feel no grief for his loss. Disturbed by his lack of emotion and apparent hallucinations that plague him, he seeks help from Luang. She brings him to her psychic aunt, who informs him that she believes his soul has been separated from his body. Although she can not help him, she refers him to Warren Mills, an American spiritualist who has experience with reconnecting souls. Mills, who believes the necessary ceremony is too dangerous, is initially reluctant to get involved but eventually agrees to help. Mills explains that Mathews must cross a dangerous passage guarded by demons and maintain his concentration during a critical ceremony in which he will be tempted. However, Mathews abandons the ceremony when he discovers that his family is threatened by the demons. Mills takes over for him, and Mathews crosses over to the afterlife in order to save his family. Mathews successfully leads his family out of danger and reunites with his lost soul.

Cast

Release

''Hellgate'' played at the Italian Fantasy Horror Film Festival on June 3, 2011, and had its United States premiere in Los Angeles on November 5, 2011.

IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its ...

released the film theatrically and on video on demand on November 16, 2012. It was released on DVD on March 12, 2013.

Reception

Jason Panella of DVD Verdict wrote, "The concept is solid, and Penney deserves credit for approaching a movie like this introspectively, but it comes off as boring and not really that scary." Mark L. Miller of

AICN Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proj ...

wrote that the film is not particularly scary, but it has "moments of awesome".

Awards

''Hellgate'' won the Best Film at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival and Best Horror Film at the Fantasy Horror Awards in Italy.

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes , m/shadows_2012 , Hellgate 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2011 films 2011 horror films 2011 horror thriller films American supernatural horror films American supernatural thriller films Films set in Bangkok Thai horror films Films scored by Nobuhiko Morino