Anything involving H.P. Lovecraft is worth a look, but when it’s a short film that stars They Live’s Roddy Piper, then you have movie magic. Director Vivieno Caldinelli and writer Matt Watts have taken to Indiegogo to ask for help getting funding for their short film, Portal to Hell.
Here’s a little bit of info on the film itself:
Jack is a simple man with simple needs. Mostly he just needs to be left alone to read his book. It’s a good book and he likes it, or at least he would if the tenants of the building he manages weren’t so damn needy themselves. And it’s not just blown fuses and clogged toilets here … no, when the building power goes out the culprit is a pair of tenants opening a portal to hell in the basement. Does this count as building maintenance? Is battling the supernatural part of Jack’s job description? Maybe not, but if Jack can’t close the portal the entire building and – let’s face it – the whole world is screwed.
Portal To Hell!!! is a short film born out of the love that director Vivieno Caldinelli (Picnicface, This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and writer Matt Watts (Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays) share for the genre-mashing films of the late 1980’s and specifically the performance of WWF (it wasn’t always the WWE, kids) superstar Rowdy Roddy Piper in They Live. “Why didn’t Piper ever really do another film like that? We should write something.” And so they did. And then Piper himself read it and liked it. And so what started as an idle wish is now becoming reality.
Piper returning to genre cinema, even in short form, is sure to be a fun and Lovecraft is an author who couldn’t be adapted enough, so all the pieces found in Portal to Hell seem to add up to something pretty cool. The campaign also promises a mix of CG and practical effects for the legendary monster and the film will take inspiration from John Carpenter. Both of those goals should peak most horror fans interest.
Perks include a download of the film when it is complete, photos, shirts, posters, and even Cthulhu tentacles. Check out the film’s page, donate, and then go home and watch John Carpenter’s They Live.
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