Chattanooga Film Festival 2023 – Hell Hath No Fury is absolutely hilarious, a well-crafted thriller/comedy. It hits the right notes, largely thanks to the performances of its leads, Leah N.H. Philpott, who plays wife Priscilla, and Jacob Ryan Snovel, who plays her hubby Silas. The two want to murder each other, while keeping their plans secret from each other, acting as if everything is copacetic. This is a feature about a marriage gone murderously wrong.

Directed by Zachary Burns, the film begins as a young cop, Officer Stanwyck (Ashley Mandanas), gets chewed out by Chief Raymond (Ben Hall). This opening factors into the film much later. From there, it introduces the married couple and their plans to off the other during Christmas. Priscilla and Silas think the job is about to get done, until something thwarts the plans, to each other’s surprise and dismay. Priscilla especially wants her dear old hubby dead because she’s having an affair with Thomas (Clinton Kubat). Silas also cheats on his wife with Lily (Michaelene Stephenson). If I have one minor gripe with the film, it’s that the storylines regarding the affairs aren’t given much traction. Thomas and Lily feel like paper-thin characters, footnotes to a larger plot about a married couple that hates each other.

This film absolutely wouldn’t work without the stellar performances of Philpott and Snovel. Their on-screen chemistry is great, and their characters go through quite the range of emotions, pretending to love each other in front of others, before snapping at each other over dinner. Let me just say that Snovel has one of the best lines in the movie after he drops spaghetti at the dinner table. It’s a total LOL moment and ridiculous. The feature has plenty of these scenes that make it endearing.

The leads bring their comedic A-game, but the supporting cast is great, too, especially the nosey gay neighbors, Andy (Yousef Kazemi) and Theo (Laron M. Chapman). They keep showing up at Priscilla and Silas’ house at the most inconvenient times, making it harder to fulfill the assassination plans. Even the hit men add to the absurdity. One, for instance, recites poetry, even moments before he nearly murders Silas. As a whole, the cast is perfect for a film like this, bouncing one joke after another off each other. But for all the comedy, this is also a nail-biting thriller. Near the endpoint, you’ll wonder if the other will succeed at murder. Will either Silas or Priscilla actually go through with it? That’s the question. Who will succeed at pulling the trigger first? The film keeps you guessing.

Hell Hath No Fury is a sharp comedy with thriller elements. Philpott and Snovel turn in quite the performances as a married couple who want the other dead. This feature crackles with creativity. It’s tense, yet rib-tickling funny.

7.5 Out of 10