When a debilitating sickness spreads across a long hotel hallway, a few scattered victims fight for survival, and try to escape from the dark narrow stretch of isolated carnage.
Starring: Julian Richings, Carolina Bartczak, and Mark Gibson
Directed by: Francesco Giannini
Written by: Derrick Adams, Francesco Giannini, and Adam Kolodny
“The Hall” isn’t somewhere you would expect to die, but it’s about to happen. Val (Carolina Bartczak), Brenden (Mark Gibson), and their daughter Kelly (Bailey Thain) are staying at a hotel. After a rude encounter outside at the hands of Brenden, Val apologizes and introduces herself to a pregnant woman named Naomi (Yumiko Skaku) in the hall. They don’t know it yet, but the two women will cross paths again.
That isn’t the only time that the audience will see Brenden lose his temper. He apparently has a short fuse with his wife, and even daughter as times. On the other side, Naomi has also experienced her own abuse from her future baby’s daddy. She has traveled a long way to escape the abuse, while Val is about to stage her own escape. The problem here is that while both end up running from abuse, they're going to be equally challenged to avoid a virus that has been released in the hotel.
It won’t take too long before the audience realizes that this horror movie has a few messages it wants to get out. The easiest one to pick up on might be the issue of domestic abuse. There’s two women here who are each at their own stage of dealing with it. Fresh off experiencing another round of abuse, Val has made the tough decision to leave her husband while at the hotel. It seems as if she’s doing it for her daughter as much as herself. Naomi hasn’t had her child yet, but she has already left its father behind. The audience will see what a tough decision this is for both of them, and the emotionally stress they go through.
The other important message the movie has for the audience is about the virus. When not seeing the woman deal with their abuse situations, the audience sees them face this virus that been slowly spreading to people on their floor. Naomi already has it, and is trying to fight her way down the hall to escape. Val actually partially benefits from it, as it helps her get away from Brenden. Once she breaks free of him, she must also make her way down the hall to find Kelly, who she sent away to hide from Brenden. It’s here that the movie does an excellent job of creating tension, and suspense. It’s in no hurry to show what happens, especially watching Naomi scratch and pull her way down the hall, and around bodies. And where’s the message in all this? No spoilers but it comes with where the virus comes from, and where Val and her daughter end up in their attempt to escape.
The “Hall” is built to deliver several messages to the audience. One is the seriousness of domestic abuse, and the tough decisions it makes people take. It does this with the help of two women, Val and Naomi, who come from different parts of the world but are experiencing a similar situation. The other issue is one that the world finds itself in now, and that’s dealing with a virus. It wants the audience to consider where the virus comes from, how it can be spread, and of course to who it can spread to. It definitely presents some tense moments, and builds a hallway full of doom and gloom. All it needed was a touch more blood to make it perfect. With that said, I give it 3 pools of blood, and glad I won’t be checking into any hotels anytime soon!
HorrO
More information at: http://promotehorror.com/2021/03/22/black-fawn-distribution-acquires-canadian-rights-for-viral-horror-film-hall/
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