Recommended Film: Hellhole
Horror. Polski Noir. Bartosz M. Kowalski. Mirella Zaradkiewicz. Sebastian Stankiewicz. Horror Noir. Polski Noir.
Screenwriter/ Director Bartosz M. Kowalski and co screenwriter Mirella Zaradkiewicz are probably best known for their wry and quirky takes on the slasher movie with Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight, and its follow up.
Hellhole, however, is a very different kettle of fish. Avoiding spoilers, Piotr Zurawski plays a detective who is sent undercover to a secluded monastery to investigate a series of mysterious disappearance, All is not what it seems, of course.
Hellhole is a tightly told tale with less flab than Kate Moss in her heyday. Visually, it is beautifully dark and atmospheric, and the creepy soundtrack adds to and develops the dark, gothic feel.
As in most Polish films, the acting is of a uniformly high standard, and I’ve got to give a special shout out to Sebastian Stankiewicz, who is one of the best character actors working in Poland today.
All in all, Hellhole is a highly recommenced slice of horror noir.