Welcome back for another installment of Review Stew! This week we go on another adventure all thanks to our library cards. That’s right, we’re turning to Kanopy again and this time for a horror short film. Let’s dive in and check on a “Rowdy” janitor in… Portal to Hell!!! (2015).
Title: Portal to Hell!!!
Director: Vivieno Caldinelli
Released: September 12, 2015 (Canada)
Runtime: 12 minutes
Available to stream on: Kanopy
All that Jack (Roddy Piper) wants is to be able to sit and read his book in peace. However, as the Superintendent of an apartment building where something is always going wrong, Jack rarely has two-minutes of quiet to himself.
Whether it is unclogging a tenant’s toilet, dealing with ongoing power issues, or constantly having to hear about how he should have bought that backup generator, Jack is catching it from all sides on a daily basis.
One day, while investigating the basement as a result of the latest power outage, Jack stumbles upon a bit of a problem. Two men, in tighty-whities and bath robes are standing in a chalk circle trying to summon an ancient beast while opening a portal to Ry’leh.
Is this now an even bigger problem that Jack has to deal with?
Or are these two men just simply cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?
Jack is here to chew bubblegum and close portals, and he’s all out of bubblegum.
Portal to Hell!!! (2015) manages to find the perfect blend of laughs, gore, and drama to send everyone home happy in just 12 minutes time. If it were any shorter, you’d feel as if there needed to be more. Though had it gone on much longer than the 12 minutes, you’d be asking for things to wrap up quickly.
Sure, the story is absurd, but the absurdity is what makes it all work. There are over-the-top laughs, plenty of great practical gory effects, and let’s be real, the main reason this short film works is because of the late great Roddy Piper in the lead role of Jack.
If you are a fan of creature features and/or were a fan of Roddy Piper, you’ll enjoy Portal to Hell!!! (2015).
Have you seen Portal to Hell!!! (2015)? If so, I want to hear from you!
Leave a comment below or reach out on Bluesky and tell me your thoughts on it!
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Also, keep an eye out come November as I’ll have some very special coverage to share with you all!