Seeking sanctuary subsequently signals Satanists to strenuously raise Hell unceremoniously yet somehow subtracting sections from the straightforward simple premise would satisfyingly save audiences from the overstretched story.

Welcome to Hell is a foreign film from Argentina presented in Spanish with English subtitles. A pregnant woman, Lucia, is living with her grandma in the countryside. As it turns out, she has been hiding from The Black Monk, the vengeful father of her child, planning to murder them both in the form of a ritual as the leader of a Satanic cult.

Directed by Jimena Monteoliva, she effectively uses the environment to create a paranoid atmosphere. I like the great use of red lights too. It adds another level of tension to the experience. The film also displays very impressive practical effects, not being overly reliant on CGI. The gore is great too, especially in the third act.

It was written by Camilo De Cabo. While I do appreciate a simple premise, there does need to be some substance for a film to be fully enjoyed in my opinion. Sometimes the dialogue provides over explanation adding little to nothing new to the story. Rather than plot developments, we get the regurgitation of previously known information. The pacing is off because long portions are presented where nothing happens. By the time things pick up is about halfway through, so portions could have been cut out because they feel unnecessary. Only a handful of characters end up mattering, too. It gets tedious after a while when this continues and it all feels like this would have worked better as a short film.

Constanza Cardillo is Lucia. She carries the film well because most of it is her by herself dreading impending doom. A lesser actress wouldn’t be able to pull this off. She conveys her emotions with her facial expressions so believably that it makes her character all the more empathetic. Damien Salomon is The Black Monk. His sinister performance has the makings of a great horror villain. He’s not only imposing but he’s commanding in a leadership role too. When he gives his followers orders it’s entirely plausible why they obey him. Marta Lubos is Abuela. She steals the show without uttering a word. She’s the sweet innocent grandmother type trying to assist her granddaughter the best she can. The way she conveys loving looks or how she captures fear in her eyes shows great versatility.

Overall, Welcome to Hell combines the slasher and home invasion subgenres having the same atmosphere as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and You’re Next with the Satanic cult in face paint replacing the masked killers. This adds a supernatural element to the film separating it from those, too. The film is visually appealing but the script needed to be trimmed down, removing superfluous subplots and characters for a more focused short film. Large chunks feel arbitrary while the plot meanders in the second act before eventually getting to the point.

It’s a beautifully shot film it just seems unfocused at times drawing out paper-thin concepts with an abundance of exposition that adds nothing new or interesting to the plot. I would still recommend this for its tremendous artistic merits. The final act alone is excellently executed. And remember, if less is more then consider concise storytelling because brevity is your friend more or less.

7 out of 10