Truly Dreadful Film

Beautiful, moving film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

The entire 3 stars from my review goes to the visual artists behind this film. There is some creative art to be found, especially in hell. Interestingly, the sets and camera positions looked like they were made for a point-and-click adventure game. I am not sure if that is bad or good, but it all looks good.As for the rest of the film, me and my partner both walked out on it...well, as much as you can walk out on a movie in the confines of your own living room.The writing is so atrociously talentless and the attempts at dirty jokes are so strikingly unfunny that one can only conclude that the script was written by a couple of middle-aged construction workers, who don't care at all for writing but have agreed to quickly write something because they were given 5 buks.The cast of the film has some notable names, and the performances are not terrible, but you can tell why the actors did not promote this film and why it has faded into obscurity.

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. :)

HELL AND BACK review by: Mike Smith "Fat Mike" Three friends embark on a wayward journey into the deepest, darkest depths of hell to rescue one of their own. While navigating their escape, they provoke a slew of misfit demons, a super sexy angel, an infamous Greek legend and the Devil himself. After seeing this trailer I couldn't wait to see this independent film! The cast is full of talent and some of my favorite comedians and voice actors. Nick Swardson, Mila Kunis, T.J. Miller, Rob Riggle, Susan Sarandon, Danny McBride and Bob Odenkirk voice the main cast. I was more impressed with the costar talent made up of Brian Posehn, Maria Bamford, Kyle Kinane, Kumail Nanjiani, Greg Proops, Paul Scheer, J.B. Smoove, Dana Snyder, Paul F. Tompkins and the legendary H. Jon Benjamin as "The Tree". Unfortunately, as talented as the cast is, I felt little to no connection to the main characters. That being said, the story is good, ridiculous and funny; the jokes are crude and at times, laugh out loud funny. The best part of this film is the animation, stop motion animation is far and few between these days and I always strongly enjoy seeing the art form. Hell And Back is a fun ride with good adult laughs and a great cast. The only downfall I had was the lack of connection with the main characters and that this film is forgettable. But I would recommend checking it out. Cheers and remember life won't suck as long as there is a good movie to watch. 6.5 out of 10 edited by Samantha Lockefacebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FatMikesMovieReviews/Twitter: @FatMikeTPK

"Hell & Back" poses a sharp contrast in quality between the wealth of its talented voice cast and the sheer pedestrian mediocrity of its screenplay. It's amazing that a barrage of talented and proved comics from the likes of T.J. Miller, Mila Kunis, Bob Odenkirk, and J.B. Smoove, would subject themselves to something so bland and ugly. From its choppy stop-motion style of animation, its lack of real creativity in its jokes, and its miserable color palette, there is a striking joylessness present in "Hell & Back" that is only highlighted by the film's lackluster writing.The story opens in a failing theme-park, largely run by slacker employees Remy (voiced by Nick Swardson), Augie (T.J. Miller), and Curt (Rob Riggle). When Curt borrows a mint from Remy, taking a blood oath to pay him back before reneging on his promise shortly after, the three are sucked into a vortex that takes them to Hell, where they are seen as "mortals" awaiting sacrifice. While Curt is the only one who is set to be sacrificed, for breaking a blood oath, Remy and Augie are also planned to be executed simply because of their presence in Hell as mortals. As a result, they team up with a demon named Deema (Mila Kunis), who is searching for Orpheus, a famous spirit who is said to have saved countless mortals who's souls were doomed to perish in Hell in time before the Devil (Bob Odenkirk) decides to sacrifice the three men.Despite the high stakes, the film feels like a constant array of tired stoner jokes written by a gang of adolescents that still find using at least two curse words in every sentence is hilarious. Admittedly, however, the film did get some laughs out of me when the small-scale, background jokes took over. Consider the scenes that involve the demons of Hell tempting the souls by having a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut counter. When one of the souls requests a pepperoni pizza, the demon informs him that they only have the Pizza Hut sign up as decoration and they are only a Taco Bell. "Welcome to Hell," the demon says whilst giggling, upon informing the poor soul. This happens a couple of other times in the film and works because of how simply outlandish and ridiculous the scene plays out, in addition to a few scenes of demons looking up the sins of the souls to see what constitutes their presence in Hell.These scenes are few and far between, however, as the bulk of the film has Remy and Augie bumbling on to random setpieces in Hell, witnessing some crass display of juvenile gags all captured in some of the most visually ugly scenery I've seen all year. With all the lame jokes occurring and the setting feeling so dim and dingy, there's simply very little positivity in this film to keep an upbeat frame of mine. Comedies set in underworlds or places of little hope obviously have difficultly meriting this constant stream of upbeat humor in contrast to the setting, but when both elements fall apart here, "Hell & Back" doesn't have a leg to stand on, frankly.Finally, there's a real cheapness to the animation here. The stop-motion animation is evidently rushed, as characters, especially when walking or moving very quickly, show a peculiar jerkiness to their motions that indicates that figures' poses were shifted too quickly, and thus, don't appear fluid. This doesn't occur frequently, but when it does, it makes the whole film seem off balance, and, much like the writing, poorly conceived.I remember hearing of "Hell & Back" earlier in the year and thought it would be something of a box office surprise; we rarely get adult animated films, and if we do, they are usually so obsessed with the idea of being vulgar and animated ("Cheech and Chong's Animated Movie" and "Jay and Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie" to name a few) that they wind up being throwaway projects of little merit. I felt that the talented cast of this particular film would crush that stereotype and lift it up to certain quality. Unfortunately, with the startlingly silent marketing for the film and the quiet release, "Hell & Back" will likely join other contemporaries as an experiment that failed largely because of its worst tendencies.