Hellfire (1995) Online

Gabrielle (the very pretty Jennifer Burns) inherits a large, ornate home that belonged to her late uncle, a murderous composer who was writing the "Symphony For the Devil" before being captured and killed by angry townspeople. Gabrielle finds the hidden, unfinished symphony and hires boozy choir director Marius Carnot (Ben Cross) to complete it to be used in her upcoming wedding to Julien Du Pont (Doug Wert). The spirit of the uncle decides this is the perfect time to return to life and coerces stuffy maid Carlotta (Beverly Garland) into helping in his evil schemes, including possessing both his niece and Marius and covering up strangulation murders of prostitutes.

One of the better entries in the ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS cable series is a bit on the slow side, but a decent ghost story with fine acting and good sets, music, photography and costumes. 1950s sci-fi/horror queen Garland is excellent in her role and proves why she should act more.

Score: 5 out of 10

I'm not sure what this movie was supposed to be. Was it made as a horror movie or half porn? I mean, there are some somewhat graphic sex scenes in this film, and I must say they're not very good. Burns is beautiful, but her acting ability is umm nonexistent?? Yea...that's a good word, I think. Not that bad acting is rare in this movie...the movie is full of it. The script is downright boring, and the horror aspects are just stupid. The movie is a horrible video release, and like all other Corman movies...well most of them at least, don't come into this one expecting much. Don't waste your time renting it.

Baron Jean Octavie (Lev Prygunov) composes music for the devil. Somehow the local church finds out. He swaps his music and hides it as the mob rips his body apart with horses. His niece Gabrielle Apollinaire (Jennifer Burns) inherits the place, finds the unfinished musical piece and hires Marius Carnot, a composer and lush (Ben Cross) to finish the piece as local prostitutes get murdered.

For the most part, the film was boring with poorly scripted scenes. I think if the discovery took place in modern times, it would have made a story with better options.

Guide: Sex and Nudity. No swearing.

(There are Spoilers) Definitely top drawer, from your local video store, Mystery Science Theater 3000 material "Hellfire" is so bad that it's actually entertaining.

The plot of "Hellfire" swirls around this mad music composer Baron Jean Octavie, Lev Prygunon, who gets involved in scoring a symphony for The Devil himself. With the local townspeople up in arms over what the Baron is doing they, led by the local priest, have the baron arrested tried and executed, by being drawn and quartered, within the first ten minutes of the movie. This is all done without as much as a single sentence of duologue making it a bit confusing to those of up watching to what exactly is going on in the film!

It's years later that when the late Baron's niece the hauntingly beautiful Gabrielle Apollinaire,Jennifar Burns, shows up to live at his castle that she discovers his unfinished work, the Devil's Symphony, hidden in his piano. Gabrielle then decides to have the symphony finished by hiring a local composer to do it. It turns out that the only composer willing to finish the Baron's symphony is an alcoholic self thought music writer named Marius Carnot, Ben Cross.

Marius at first isn't at all interested in the unfinished symphony he's more interested in the drop dead gorgeous Gabrielle. It's only when Marius starts to play the Baron's piece that he becomes infatuated with it to the point where it slowly takes over his mind as well as his body. Marius also becomes a serial killer of local prostitutes when he's not working on the unfinished musical piece as if killing people would give him the drive and inspiration that he needs to finish it! Madly in love with Gabrielle Marius is later confronted with her hand picked and future husband the arrogant and self-assured Julien, Doug West.

Picking a fight, with swords, with Marius over the hand of Gabrielle Julien who was at first winning hands down is later run through by Marius and killed when the spirit of the Devil, or the late Baron Octavie,took control of him. It soon becomes apparent that Marius is not himself and his murderous actions back in town, killing a number of hookers, attracts the attention of the local Constable, Aleksandar Pyatkoy, who tries to build a murder case against him. It's only later when Marius, now completely under the control of the Baron, brutally murders one of his music students, he teaches music in the local church in his spear time, the busty Yvette, Yekaterina Rednikova, that the Constable has all the proof he needs to have him arrested.

There's also in "Hellfire" veteran B-movie and horror Queen Beverly Garland as the maid Caroletta whom the late Baron has a wild and crazy affair with just before he was put on ice, for his involvement with the Devil, by the outraged townspeople. Carlotta in fact was to take over Jennifar's body, like the Baron took over Marius', when the symphony was finally finished. ****SPOILER ALERT**** As you would expect the Devil doesn't keep his promises like the filmmakers can't make up their minds in how to put an end to this monstrosity and have something like three different ending within the last ten minutes of the movie. It's decided, by the Devil himself, to burn the whole movie set down together with the both possessed Marius and the resuscitated and brought to life, with his arms and legs stitched back on, Baron. This all leads to what seems like a number of alternative, endings that by the time the film is finally over your left more confused then ever before!

...finish this. There are just some movies where you know that you can save that ninety minutes of your life for something more meaningful, and fifteen minutes into this craptacular debacle, I realized that this was indeed one of those cases.

Yes, Roger Corman and Company have to make a buck, and he has every right to remake any and every costume horror melodrama that ever helped make him a name. Especially the Vincent Price ones.

So what's wrong with HELLFIRE? Well, the storyline is good, and kudos to Corman for reaching out to work with Mosfilm. But the problem is what's missing here. And what's missing, you ask? How about Vincent Price's acting skills, Floyd Crosby's richly saturated visuals, Daniel Haller's art direction and the scoring by the irreplaceable Les Baxter? I know what you're going to say...most of these talented artisans are no longer with us, and the few that still are probably have retired from the business permanently.

Which is exactly my point.

Which I also know is moot, since this mess was cooked up over ten years ago now.

None of the other Corman classics have suffered lately from attempts to remake, revisit or 'redefine' them. Here's hoping it stays that way.