Nick Tries to Save His Girl and His Soul in...
Released by: Wild Eye Releasing
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Production Year: 2014
Region Code: 0 NTSC
Running Time: 1:27:48
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35 Aspect Ratio)
Subtitles: None
THE FILM - [ 2.5 / 5 ]:
"All Hell Breaks Loose" combines classic elements of exploitation cinema: bikers, Satanism and gritty action. A murdered groom tries to save his wife's soul with the help of the local sheriff, a priest, and a cowboy who just might be God.
A story of love, leather ... and brutal violence! When the Satan's Sinners, a vicious biker gang, attack a bride and groom on their wedding day, they get a fight they never imagined. Now, armed with some divine intervention and firepower, the murdered groom is out to save his wife any way he can before she is sacrificed to Satan... even if it means dying over and over again until the job is done.
The film starts off feeling like an older slasher movie and it is probably my favorite part. As the film opens we also see that it has been given the "Grindhouse" treatment as in artificially aging the film with white specks and scratches which was a nice touch. During the commentary it's mentioned that the opening scene was shot later and basically with non-actors but it worked fairly well and for a low budget film, I really didn't think they were all that bad. Among the party goers is Tina (April Mai) who ends up being taken by Satan's Sinners and is later forced to strip and dance for them.
Before long the evil bikers interrupt what should be a happy day for Nick (Nick Forrest) and Bobby Sue (Sarah Kobel Marquette). But their wedding day is turned upside down and becomes a real nightmare. Poor Nick, the lovable loser, has a good heart and intentions but just fails miserably at almost everything he tries to do in his attempt at rescuing Bobby Sue from the clutches of the bikers.
"All Hell Breaks Loose" looks better than it probably should considering it sounds like it had a minuscule budget. Some of the CGI effects are apparently intentionally bad looking or cartoon-ish as mentioned in the commentary. Sadly a fair amount of the violence occurs off screen, which I would assume was done to save money. Some of the practical effects do look good though. It appears this was the first film for Nick Forrest and I hope to see more of him. As I am writing this review it dawned on me that his character reminds me a little of Lionel from Peter Jackson's "Braindead." For fans of TV's Jackass, the film does feature Ehren McGhehey (Danger Ehren) as one of Satan's Sinners.
The film is touted as an homage to 70's biker and horror films and I think that is a very fair statement. Its story and aged appearance give the impression you are watching a film from that era. It would have been nice if the film had a larger budget for practical effects as I think it would have elevated the film to a whole other level. But I can't hold that against them. You can only work with what you have available.
AUDIO - [ 3 / 5 ]:
The DVD comes with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track. The audio was above average for the most part on this release. The sound quality does dip a little low a few times but otherwise I thought it was fine. Sometimes the dialogue can be slightly overshadowed by the volume of the music making it a little difficult to hear the actors. I loved the song that plays over the title card and opening cast credits. It has just enough of a spooky vibe to its sound that helps set the right tone.
VIDEO - [ 3.5 / 5 ]:
"All Hell Breaks Loose" comes to DVD thanks to Wild Eye Releasing. The film is presented in NTSC format with a 2.35 Aspect Ratio. As mentioned earlier, the video for the film has been altered to add scratches and white specks. With that said it looks fairly good for a super low budget film. Colors have that somewhat faded or flat look that they did in many 70's films. Skin tones looked natural and black levels looked okay. The film looks sharp in brightly lit scenes but tends to look a little soft otherwise, which really is the majority of the time.
SPECIAL FEATURES - [ 2 / 5 ]:
Audio Commentary - The participants for this commentary track are director Jeremy Garner and writer Vocabulariast. The duo do a good job discussing what is happening on the screen. They also talk about members of the cast and crew as well as the films production including shooting locations, special effects and the script.
Deleted Scene - Heartbreak Hotel (0:38) - A portion of this plays after the credits.
Deleted Scene - Start Dancing (1:24) - Bobby Sue refusing to dance and then being kicked and slapped around.
Original Trailer (2:15)
OVERALL RATING - [ 3 / 5 ]
