Would you make a deal with the devil to save the ones you love? The Faustian bargain has remained prevalent in popular culture since the 16th century, inspiring great literary works, television shows, films, and everything in between. It often follows a gullible mortal striking a deal that comes with more pitfalls than you could ever imagine – the devil always comes out on top, after all. But in Portal To Hell, the feature debut from director Woody Bess, we see how it can be a transformative experience that sends our hero down a path to redemption.
Debt collector Dunn (Trey Holland) spends every day chasing outstanding medical bills alone in his apartment, occasionally running into his neighbour, Mr Bobshank (Keith David), dying of terminal cancer, or Morgan (Monet Weir) and her down-and-out boyfriend Rip (Casey Deidrick). One day, a portal to hell opens in a washing machine at his local laundromat, and he and owner Ed (Romina D'Ugo) are faced with a dilemma – do they interact with it, or ignore its existence? When demon Chip (Richard Kind) leaves the portal and informs Dunn he is there to collect Mr Bobshanks' soul, Dunn takes matters into his own hands and strikes a deal to collect three souls in exchange for his neighbours' life.
Bitingly funny and life-affirming, Portal To Hell is a unique take on the Faustian bargain that takes a tried-and-tested format – trading souls for souls – and uses it to explore the purpose of life and what it truly means to be happy. The film whips from an offbeat punchline packaged in a skin-crawlingly awkward situation, to an emotional heart-to-heart exploring everything from mental health issues to love and death in a heartbeat, covering the whole spectrum of the human experience in moments. And nothing summarises Portal To Hell better, a messy exploration of what it means to be human and what we cling onto to give us purpose at any given time. It's something Dunn struggles with when we join him in his job that brings him nothing but misery in a lonely apartment, and follow him on his bizarre, otherworldly journey, and a descent into madness.
Portal To Hell perfectly balances its ridiculous elements with gritty realism, knowing exactly when to take itself seriously and when to offer some comic relief through the audience's tears. And with comedy legends such as Keith David and Richard Kind among the cast, laughter is never far away, with some genuinely uproarious moments among the madness, thanks to their characters. The chemistry between Holland and D'Ugo as Dunn and Ed is electric, immediately endearing the audience to their plight despite all of their terrible actions – humans aren't binary good and evil, after all.
It's a strong feature debut from Woody Bess that signals him as a director to watch and get excited about. Portal To Hell demonstrates an expert craft of both genre stylings and comedy, as well as careful worldbuilding and character creation that help to weave an emotional, uplifting narrative that embraces all the flaws of mankind while celebrating our desire to keep carrying on, no matter what is thrown our way.
Portal To Hell had its UK premiere at FrightFest 2025 on 21 August
