fwomp Wanna get the crap scared out of you? And I don't mean that in any respectfully horror-ish way when referring to HELL HOUSE. I mean it in a way that'll cause you to doubt human sanity.Technique-wise, I have to give the creators of this idea a definite thumbs up. Utilizing graphic imagery to frighten people toward God, the Assembly of God Church has accomplished something quite unique every October 31st. Threatening sinners with eternal damnation if they have premarital sex, are gay, or attend a rave party, this church puts on a haunted house filled with gore and violence each Halloween. The actors and actresses are pulled from their congregation annually. Some are young women who dip their crotches in fake blood and scream in mock pain while perched on a makeshift hospital gurney (their dialogue during this horrific scene is centered around "the morning after pill" and how dangerous it is ...which is completely untrue of course, but we're talking self-induced abortion so this little fib is obviously okay.) Other scenes include a homosexual man dying of AIDS. A ghoulishly evil creature hovers around him and comments on his "evil lifestyle choice" as he groans his last breath and is ushered into everlasting pain and devilish servitude (never mind that the man may have been a pediatrician who cured a type of cancer that saved thousands of lives. Homo? You're going' to Hell!) At the end of peoples' tour through these strange Halloween acts, prayer groups are offered up for those who wish to be saved. Never mind that the pressure put on the guests by the aforementioned scenes and the "limited time" they have to act on this compulsion are stressed to the maximum ("You have six seconds to walk through that door and be saved by Jesus. One...") Probably the biggest downer here is that this is a growing phenomenon. Forget that God is merciful or full of love or wants you to be happy. That's not what this is about. This is all about fear and the tactics used to instill it by a group of individuals who claim to be "religious." Excuse me but isn't religion supposed to be about acceptance, caring, and the loving nature of Jesus/God? Maybe I'm missing something.The other issue is that these Assembly of God members obviously have no idea what Halloween is about nor its history (Note: All Hallows Day – also known as "All Saints' Day". The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although we now consider All Saints' – or Hallows' – day to be on the day after Halloween, they were, at that time, considered to be the same day.) The church also shows how suicide is a sin. But God (nor the bible) ever said this (Note: "In the early Christian era suicide was not only tolerated, but condoned by the church, as a result certain sects such as the Donatists and the Circumcellions jumped off cliffs in great numbers to hasten an afterlife that promised greater rewards than those found on jolly old Earth. Faced with the loss of so many of its members, and rapidly shrinking collection plates, in the sixth century the church decided that anyone else who committed suicide was going to hell." Bet you won't be hearing that "biblical history" during a sermon any time soon.) There's a brief shining moment when a group of young men and women confront the designers of Hell House and tell them how wrong all of this is (thus my two star rating). But it falls on deaf ears and is quickly swept under the rug in the documentary.

Gary M. James "Hell House" shows the members of Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas (near Dallas) organizing and planning their annual Hell House. Unlike the usual a haunted house with ghosts and goblins, Hell House exposes the evils of real life (abortion, rape, AIDS, DWI, suicide, etc.) and offers visitors a chance for salvation.From what I've seen, I found the misinformation presented by the elders and the people performing in Hell House unintentionally funny, very sad and very enraging. In one vignette, one person commits suicide after being teased and taunted by his classmates. So the person committing suicide goes to hell. What about the classmates who teased him to get to that low point of his life?Since 1990, approx. 10,000-13,000 per year has visited "Hell House". So 13,000 visitors per year x $5-7 per person = at least $65,000 income per year every October. Just from a financial standpoint, Hell House is a clever marketing coup.Director George Ratliff and his crew were given open access to the church. Ratliff chose to film the church participants and the situations as-is without making judgments (e.g.: no narrator) which I think made for a powerful and chilling documentary.

a-delray I find it tragic and shocking that such religious cults still exist and find such a following.Somewhere it is mentioned that White people didn't feel comfortable being led by a Black minister so became the birth of certain churches etc...(and this is apparently OK?) I'm sorry, I'm having trouble finding "God" in this line of thought. There is a "skit" where the wife is found out to be cheating on her husband with someone whom she met online...which is without question--wrong, however her husband appears to be rather drunken and very abusive himself....how is one right, and the other wrong or are women still considered possessions? If you want to see just what kind of ignorance religion can still breed today, I would highly recommend watching this documentary..it is certainly a real eye opener. If you ever wondered why people down South are considered so backwards, take a look at this "church".

artstupid The filmmakers do a good job of letting the irony reveal itself without hitting you over the head with the obvious connection of the Christian religion's entire doctrine being based on fear. What is revealed is something a little different than the typical greed motivation of most religions. Then again the hiearchy of these nuts isn't really explored. You do get to see the sheer ignorance, pain and fears that the Trinity Church members experience due to their own oppressive beliefs. There just wasn't enough background into the social and economic status of the region to paint a clear picture.The film could benefit with a trim to the current content and the editing could have been a little more professional. There were some pretty rough audio cuts from one segment to the next.A very funny moment in the film is at the end when a naive teenage member of these kooks states her belief that the world has never been this horrible and the end is near. I only wish she could of been transplanted to a Nazi death camp or Camp 751 in China during WWII. Gee, if they had only excepted Jesus. Ha! Way to stupid to get any serious thinker in an uproar. But, when it's all said and done, I can't recommend this. Not due to it's goofy content. It's just not very good. The film did remind me of one thing: It sure is embarrassing being an American.