Jonny_Numb Review of Bell from Hell

Bell from Hell (1973)

Memo to Blue Underground: remaster and re-release this lost treasure!

[6/10 · 22 July 2006]

The strangely titled "Bell from Hell" is feature #6 in the "Chilling Classics" 50-movie boxed set, and is a remarkably good film. A Spanish production that invokes a less color-schematic Mario Bava, it tells the story of a long-institutionalized young man who is released and proceeds to carry out all sorts of trickery and innuendo toward his aunt and cousins (turns out they want to claim his inheritance, but he's not going down without a fight). Though my copy seems a bit jumpy in spots (it's the 93-minute U.S. release), "Bell" still hits all the right notes--creepy atmosphere aplenty (making the nights especially foreboding); great locations; and fine performances. While the plot is nothing new, it unfolds with a series of twists, turns, and surreal images (reaching its peak in the dank, creepy 'slaughterhouse' scene)--this pleasant surprise is never boring. That being said, my star rating isn't more enthusiastic because the sound quality is absolutely TERRIBLE; much of the dialog is nearly impossible to make out (though it's not necessary to surmise the gist of the plot), seemingly due to a poor source print, poorly mastered. I very much hope that a competent company like Blue Underground will acquire "Bell from Hell" and give it the red-carpet treatment it so richly deserves.