9 Ways to Hell

This low-end anthology suffers from terrible pacing, weak scripting, a general lack of creativity, and poor acting. The sound and cinematography aren't bad though, and the effects are decent. Unfortunately, while you can tell that the director(s) had plenty of ideas in mind, you can also tell that they did not have the skills required to pull their efforts together into fully coherent and gripping stories. The ideas presented are incredibly mundane - they took literal approaches to each Circle of Hell rather than utilizing creative and unique approaches - which might have been passable if the production value and performance quality were both high enough to carry them. I will say that "Gluttony" and "Greed" took some interesting approaches, and, by comparison, are a step or two above the other vignettes. Gotta give them props for putting in effort to tie the different vignettes together, but nearly all the attempts are too disjointed to really succeed. Instead, they snip whatever gossamer strands might be holding together any sense of immersion and cohesion that this movie can muster. Overall, I'd say you could pass this one up in favor any other movie that's on your list. Below are brief Plot Summaries: Prologue - The Dark Wood: A woman pulls off the main highway to decompress after receiving many pieces of bad news, a decision that could prove fatal. 1/10 1st Circle of Hell - Limbo: Repeatedly stumbling into woefully familiar circumstances, an abrasive young man must pay the price if he wants to break the loop. 2/10 2nd Circle of Hell - Lust: An unassuming man becomes unwittingly ensnared by a seductress's clever schemes. That is, until a third party comes between them. 1/10 3rd Circle of Hell - Gluttony: Two sisters - one beautiful and vain, the other overweight and modest - are met upon by a man offering them special chocolates. 4/10 Interlude - City of Woe: Picking up where the Prologue left off, our protagonist appeals to the wrong crowd in a bid for aid. 2/10 Fourth Circle - Greed: A young girl has an increasingly disturbing conversation with her mom as tensions climb higher and higher. 5/10 Fifth Circle - Wrath: A beleaguered sideways cop is haunted by his most recent decisions. 3/10 Interlude - DIS association: Our protagonist finds herself in a den of snakes, so to speak. 1/10 Sixth Circle - Heresy: A young man develops curiosity around his younger sister's recent interest in praying only to discover that things are far more serious than he realized. 2/10 Seventh Circle - Violence: A depraved priest holds a confessional for a young woman as she struggles to absolve her deceased mother of her sins. 1/10 Eight Circle - Fraud: A woman shows up to her family's house to celebrate her birthday, but for some reason no one recognizes her. 1/10 Interlude - Mami Satan Aleppe: Our protagonist crosses paths with two demons. 1/10 Ninth Circle - Betrayal: Our protagonist is transported to a metaphysical realm containing the circles of hell. 1/10.

This is a low-budget indie film, but I feel like everyone did the best they could with the money they had. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I feel like everyone in this project deserves credit for putting together a fun and unified piece of art. It may take a while and more funding for the participants in this production to be able to really shine, but I suspect that, given time and budget, they can produce some really first-rate work. This movie is good for a pizza night with friends or your significant other. Sometimes it pays off to give the lesser-known studios a chance, folks!

This low-end anthology suffers from terrible pacing, weak scripting, a general lack of creativity, and poor acting. The sound and cinematography aren't bad though, and the effects are decent. Unfortunately, while you can tell that the director(s) had plenty of ideas in mind, you can also tell that they did not have the skills required to pull their efforts together into fully coherent and gripping stories. The ideas presented are incredibly mundane - they took literal approaches to each Circle of Hell rather than utilizing creative and unique approaches - which might have been passable if the production value and performance quality were both high enough to carry them. I will say that "Gluttony" and "Greed" took some interesting approaches, and, by comparison, are a step or two above the other vignettes. Gotta give them props for putting in effort to tie the different vignettes together, but nearly all the attempts are too disjointed to really succeed. Instead, they snip whatever gossamer strands might be holding together any sense of immersion and cohesion that this movie can muster. Overall, I'd say you could pass this one up in favor any other movie that's on your list. Below are brief Plot Summaries: Prologue - The Dark Wood: A woman pulls off the main highway to decompress after receiving many pieces of bad news, a decision that could prove fatal. 1/10 1st Circle of Hell - Limbo: Repeatedly stumbling into woefully familiar circumstances, an abrasive young man must pay the price if he wants to break the loop. 2/10 2nd Circle of Hell - Lust: An unassuming man becomes unwittingly ensnared by a seductress's clever schemes. That is, until a third party comes between them. 1/10 3rd Circle of Hell - Gluttony: Two sisters - one beautiful and vain, the other overweight and modest - are met upon by a man offering them special chocolates. 4/10 Interlude - City of Woe: Picking up where the Prologue left off, our protagonist appeals to the wrong crowd in a bid for aid. 2/10 Fourth Circle - Greed: A young girl has an increasingly disturbing conversation with her mom as tensions climb higher and higher. 5/10 Fifth Circle - Wrath: A beleaguered sideways cop is haunted by his most recent decisions. 3/10 Interlude - DIS association: Our protagonist finds herself in a den of snakes, so to speak. 1/10 Sixth Circle - Heresy: A young man develops curiosity around his younger sister's recent interest in praying only to discover that things are far more serious than he realized. 2/10 Seventh Circle - Violence: A depraved priest holds a confessional for a young woman as she struggles to absolve her deceased mother of her sins. 1/10 Eight Circle - Fraud: A woman shows up to her family's house to celebrate her birthday, but for some reason no one recognizes her. 1/10 Interlude - Mami Satan Aleppe: Our protagonist crosses paths with two demons. 1/10 Ninth Circle - Betrayal: Our protagonist is transported to a metaphysical realm containing the circles of hell. 1/10.