The escalating insanity of spring of 2020 is what opens FRESH HELL. During a clever title sequence that establishes time, place, and mood, writer and co-director Ryan Imhoff takes us back to the days of physical distancing, racial tension an administration that couldn’t care less. What follows is a Covid-era horror movie that exceeds expectations with a clear narrative, solid performances, and a fundamental understanding of cinematic language.

We open on a Zoom call as Grace (Lanise Antoine Shelley) is the first person on, muttering to herself, “Another sh*t day in F*cktown”. All of her old friends from acting school years prior filter into the chat.  Todd (Rob Fagin) is first to join with Scott (Will Mobley), Cynthia (Crystal Kim), Brian (Tyler Owen Parsons), James (Randolph Thompson) and Kara (Christine Vrem-Ydstie) soon follow. But where is their friend Laura (Christina Reis)? The group lights up, drinks up, cokes up, and remenises about their formative days in theatre school when a Stranger (Ryan Imhoff) pops into their video chat party using Laura’s login. At first the Stranger is mildly annoying but things escalate quickly with some fabulously disturbing gore and the discovery that this Stranger might be holding Laura captive.

While Grace is deeply effected by the video intrusion and the thought that her friend Laura might be in danger, the others dismiss the anomaly as a nasty troll playing a prank. This is odd since said Stranger has threatened to come for the rest of them. Grace reaches out to the police but their retort is a cynical comment about her mental health and current loss of a family member. Then the Stranger begins coming for the others. Will Grace be able to remotely save her friends and uncover the identity of the Stranger before it’s too late?

As mentioned before Fresh Hell works far more than it doesn’t. The script by Imhoff is a nauseatingly accurate capture of a frightening time of uncertainty that almost feels too fresh. Co-directed by Imhoff and Matt Neal, the two really do an exceptional job of guiding the audience with technical and cinematic cues. In particular the blend of screen captures with crossfades reminds us that we are still to be viewing this as a MOVIE movie rather than a found footage rehash.

The film’s two secret weapons though, are Imhoff  who writes, co-directs, and stars, along with Shelley as Grace. After the first gory moment, we see that Imhoff’s Stranger is wonderfully unhinged to the point that we really have no idea what he might do. Shelley is the final girl non-victim that we all need and want as the sharp yet ultimately troubled Grace. With all of that said the film would have worked more if the final showdown and reveal monologue could have been trimmed. Imhoff holds nothing back in terms of performance but the end seems to plateau.

Regardless, Fresh Hell is sharp, bloody, and scary. It delivers moments of teeth-clinching gore and biting commentary that is worth a horror fan’s time. Even post lockdown.

7 Out Of 10