Hell and Back — Blue Fairy Film Blog

"Hell and Back" is one of the weirder stop motion films I have ever seen. This is not because of its visuals or choices per se, but because I'm not sure who it's for. It's not for children (Seriously, don't let a child watch this accidentally) and it's really not for teens either. Though much of the humor is more juvenile, the film is so self-hating and needlessly dire that it seems to be geared more towards exactly no one. Directed by Ross Shuman and Tom Gianas, "Hell and Back" is a little seen and greatly hated venture that will remain a blight on all those involved.

The story follows three men (?) who work at a pier carnival, and have been best friends since childhood. Played by Nick Swarsdon, TJ Miller, and Rob Riggle, they seem to be ridiculously childish in their approach to life, but love each other like brothers. Two of the friends make a blood oath in front of a book with a crying devil, which sends one of them to Hell. The other two follow him to the bowels of the beast and try to save him from his untimely fate.

The film delves into their misery right off the bat and makes several jokes, including one about an old woman's vagina, and is preceded by homophobia. While all those involved are accomplished (Mila Kunis, Bob Odenkirk, Susan Sarandon etc.) none of them are working with much, and therefore most of the jokes fall flat. The only time when Orpheus’ jokes really land is when Nick Swarsdon's character gets off a zinger or characters are bantering. Otherwise a lot of this is simply obnoxious. It's unclear what is up with the Devil's facade, why we need a shot of Mila Kunis' purple devil in nothing but a tank top and underwear, why Orpheus is such a tool, why there is a distended running joke about male rape via a tree, or why the ending is so swift and easy, making the entire film pointless.

There are some good jokes peppered here and there but for the most part everyone involved is just too good for this movie. I seriously want to know what the filmmakers are holding over Susan Sarandon for her to even think about giving voice to the angel Barb. Besides getting to see some pretty great stop motion and hear some okay one-liners, there's no reason you have to see this film.