Slamdance Film Festival 2025 – Writer/director Woody Bess’ Portal to Hell merges comedy, drama, and horror to raise some interesting moral questions. The film’s protagonist wants to save his cancer-stricken neighbor from a demon. However, to save him, he must murder and sacrifice three souls. This sparks questions about the life choices these characters would have made, had they not been killed. Is redemption possible? That’s one of the queries the film explores.

Trey Holland stars as Dunn. His day job is hell. He calls people daily about their medical debt. Most of them scream at him or simply hang up, making for some humorous moments in the film’s first ten minutes. His situation worsens when he encounters a demon in an alleyway. The demon, voiced by Richard Kind, informs Dunn that he’s after the soul of Dunn’s neighbor, Mr. Bobshank (Keith David). The demon never explains fully why he wants Mr. Bobshank’s soul, but Dunn sees him as a kind person, often dispensing words of wisdom.

The portal to hell resides at a local laundromat, where Dunn encounters worker Ed (Romina D’Ugo), who gets roped into Dunn’s plan to murder and stuff the bodies in the laundromat both as a means to eventually close the portal and save Mr. Bobshank. This all makes for a fun and clever concept, especially when Ed claims she needs to stay involved to “protect the customers.”

In terms of performances, it’s always great to see David in anything. This role is a contrast to his performances in horror classics like The Thing and They Live. Here, he plays a mentor-type character, frequently doling out advice to the often-befuddled Dunn, who questions the direction and purpose of his own life. The scenes between David and Holland’s Dunn are some of the strongest in the film. Additionally, D’Ugo and Holland have some solid comedic on-screen chemistry at the laundromat.

The film’s general plot isn’t too unfamiliar. However, it becomes more interesting when Dunn questions his actions. For instance, did the people he sacrificed, despite their terrible impulses and actions, have any chance of redemption? That’s the quandary Dunn faces. Could they have turned their lives around if he didn’t murder them to spare his neighbor? The demon torments Dunn by raising these very questions and hinting that yes, maybe some of these victims could have changed. Dunn denied them that chance by killing them.

While Portal to Hell certainly contains demons and murder, it’s more about Dunn’s journey and the effects of his actions. This is a film that raises some interesting ethical and moral issues, while still entertaining viewers with its dashes of dark humor. Overall, this is a fun Faustian bargain set against the backdrop of LA.