Zack Weber Prelude: My exposure to this film was extremely limited, which is not saying much considering the advertising budget on this film was non- existent. I only saw one commercial, an ad placed on the Adult Swim block of Cartoon Network. The second being a guest appearance of Rob Riggle on E!'s The Soup promoting the film. I was (morbidly) sold on Hell & Back from the moment I saw that ad on Adult Swim. Any Stop Motion film being advertised at 1AM on a Tuesday night definitely has my attention! When I further researched the film, I had a difficult time finding any concrete information on a release platform for the film. The only info available was the October 2ndrelease date. I was convinced this would get an ultra-limited theatrical release, with a VOD release on the immediate horizon in time for Halloween. So when I checked my local movie times last week to see, by any chance, if it would be playing. I was shocked to see it had 4 showings each day. I did not have the opportunity to see it opening weekend, but went the first chance I could, a Monday afternoon. I would have been shocked if I was not the only person in the theater. Boy… Was I spot on!Plot: Hell & Back follows the adventures of Remy, Augie, and Curt. Our trio works at a dilapidated amusement park. Augie, the park's handyman, is tasked with fixing the park with no money and even further dwindling attendance. Remy "helps" his friend by talking to the park's fortune teller and taking her "Devil Book." Remy soon discovers the book has a crying Devil page and concocts a scheme to draw people to the amusement park, akin to "Jesus Toast." Soon enough, Remy and Curt make a "blood oath" on the book, over Remy loaning Curt "1 breath mint" (I'm not making this up), and Curt pledging an oath to repay the mint loan, "on the pages of the devil's book." Curt quickly makes it known he has no intention of repaying the mint loan, which leads to him being drawn into a vortex leading straight to the gates of, you guessed it, HELL. Remy and Augie quickly enter the portal to rescue their friend. It is here we are introduced to the realm of Hades. We are introduced to the Devil himself and his Demon-minions who spend eternity torturing the Lost Souls that inhabit this realm. We learn that the devil is really a metrosexual (he even listens to a trendy boy band while in the shower!), who only uses the "giant red horn physique" in order to "motivate the troops (the demons)." It is not long before Remy and Augie's presence is sensed and "Barb the Angel" (an oversexualized angel, voiced by the most marquee worthy actor in the film, Susan Sarandon) is dispatched to return them to the world of the living. Remy and Augie go searching for Orpheus, the Greek Mythological figure, who can save their friend. In the process of searching for Orpheus, Deema appears, a purple-horned, demon-human hybrid, who has her own motives in locating Orpheus. The story goes on from there and you could guess the twists and turns. Review:Hell & Back is not anything to get "riled up" over. Is it so awful that the distributing studio (Freestyle Releasing) felt it was such a "lost cause," it dumped the film into theaters without any sort of marketing push? No. Is it a great movie? Also,no. This film would have been heralded as a classic, if it was not for South Park. The film made me laugh once, yet I genuinely enjoyed it. The art design is a cross between MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch and HBO's Crashbox. Nothing groundbreaking, but there are a couple of pieces which are eye-catching. The most notable being the "Devil's Gondola," which has multiple cogs and gears aided by skeleton hands pulling its way across the cables that transverse its home and destination ports. The only stand out characters are the Demons and the Lost Souls they perpetually torture. These scenes are the stand outs of the film and are the few that illicit laughter. One particular scene (which can be found in the trailer), involves a Demon operating a Pizza Hut- Taco Bell dual restaurant, goading a Lost Soul into ordering a pizza, only to inform him, "we don't carry pizza" even though the sign says they do. Scenes like this occur throughout the film (and even over the end credits), yet are few and far in between. Ultimately, the film's detriment lies with its human characters and Deema. One scene involves Remy and Augie ogling Deema, as she disrobes in order to restore proper ballast in a submarine they need to transverse Hell (who knew Hell has water?). I honestly do not know who this scene was meant for? It is an R-rated film, yet wants me to be amused by an animated purple, devil-esque woman parading around in a skimpy cotton outfit. Hell & Back's largest issue is its bipolar tonal shifts. One half of the film is juvenile and tries ever so hard to appeal at a sophomoric audience. The Robot Chicken audience would roll their eyes at a lot of the jokes here. Yet there is subtle, dry humor present, that if you mentally check out long enough, you will miss a good one-liner or two! I am pressed to believe much of the latter stems from ad-libbed lines from the voice cast, which is chocked full of under-appreciated comedians (except Nick Swardson). Hell & Back is the definition of a mixed bag. There is much to dislike about the film, yet there are enough small gems in it, that to the right person will be appreciated. Recommended to stop-motion animation enthusiasts who have a strong sense of patience.

davidf-47280 I really don't know exactly how "not good" it is because I could only stand about ten minutes of it. Cliché from the get go, it seems to be a raunch fest of bad potty jokes and low sexual humor. I'm pretty sure I would have thought it was lame when I was in junior high. The movie was so shallow, I have to make stuff up to get the required five lines to submit a review.

NileFortnerBoogieBuddha954 Hell & Back truly does have an all star. We have Mila Kunis, Susan Sarandon, Danny Mcbride, Rob Riggle, Nick Swardson, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Coolidge, J.B. Smoove, Michael Pena, Brian Posehn, David Koechner, and more. Sadly we do not get an all star movie.Hell & Back has some of the workers behind Robot Chicken. I think Robot Chicken is a decent show. On the other hand, we honestly in my opinion have a not so good movie. I personally didn't find it funny, and in my opinion, Robot Chicken is much better.The movie has some nice claymation/stop motion animation behind it. But, the movie itself falls short. The story is there, the talent is there, but the jokes are completely absent. I know comedy is very difficult to write. Writing comedy isn't like writing other films. For instance, a horror movie can have a loose story, but amazing practical effects. With comedy it's either funny or it isn't.I believe this movie could have been much better, and I truly wanted to enjoy it. I personally wouldn't pay $ to see this. Wait until it is streaming or something. I don't even know if I can say this legally, but you can just bootleg this sh*t, if you want to see it. However, I saw the whole film on Youtube for free, and it really isn't worth the time.So these are my final Bitchin' Buddha thoughts on Hell & Back. With some new and clever jokes, this film could have gotten two thumbs up, and have been a cult classic. If you like this film, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I believe the jokes could have just been a little better. I believe Hell & Back earns a...4/10.This review is brought to you by Boogie Buddha, and remember, don't just get down, but get Boogie. Thank you for reading and viewing. I wish you an amazing day as always. :)

Neddy Merrill You wonder what the attraction is for the makers for "Chicken Run", "Box Trolls" and for the Bro Comedy "Hell and Back" to stop motion animation. It's not as if going through the painstaking and laborious process automatically yields a visual character superior to less labor- intensive production methods. So why not just make it a cartoon? Anyway, the plainly descriptive-titled "Hell and Back" lifts the way Satan from South Park is rendered whole, gives him "Breaking Bad's" Bob Odenkirk's voice and drops him in a bro comedy. There he trades the standard bro jokes (mostly homosexual panic quips) with the slackers who inadvertently fall into his underground realm. None of it is terribly entertaining but there are enough laughs to make it all fairly innocuous.