‘Hell Motel’ (Review)

Take a group of true crime fanatics and stick them in a motel where, thirty years ago, a couple was brutally slain. Now, the killer has returned, and has an even larger appetite. It’s a classic set-up, and nobody can fault showrunner Ian Carpenter (Slasher) for leaning into the trope-yness of it; especially as he’s got an extremely particular brand of target in his sights.

Hell Motel is cyclically cynical

The cast of characters, in particular Paula Brancati’s Paige, all feel the allure of history repeating itself. As is the case with many so-called scream queens, there’s an undercurrent of faux-adoration and a deep desire to want to do right portrayals of real-life subjects. Frustratingly, the show never digs deep enough to actually venture into a true critique of the dynamic between actor and subject, but it does manage to at least open up a discussion that future anthologies could begin to explore.

There’s also a heavy dose of cynicism that runs throughout the show that, for someone like me, worked well. Carpenter clearly understands the audiences that are attracted to this kind of gore-fest and doesn’t so much as patronize them as he does invite them to see what is critically wrong (at times) with the genre. There’s an inevitability with these stories that Carpenter, very cleverly, exposes.

Is Hell Motel a supernatural show?

I can’t get too into this for spoiler reasons but this show delves into the supernatural from very early on. That said, the supernatural elements are more Pretty Little Liars than American Horror Story, which makes watching them a lot easier as someone who prefers horror to be about the darkest sides of humanity – no ghosts needed.

Additionally, Hell Motel doesn’t hold back from the very taboo elements of horror, which may prove to be too much for some people to stomach…

But, is Hell Motel any good?

Hell Motel is the type of show that you’ll either immediately click with, for its desire to tell two pretty intense stories, or you’ll be turned off by. I found some of the performances to be lacking a bit, with line deliveries running flat and overall motivations being under explored. That’s to be expected with ten guests to balance but, here’s the thing, there’s no reason for the show to have that many characters. It didn’t need to introduce so many people just to red shirt them, and around about halfway through the show there’s a realization that sets in on who the main characters are.

With that said, I understand that the actors in these types of projects are merely vehicles for the meta-narrative. I’m happy to say that the story itself isn’t let down by subpar performances, even if there is an abundance of them, and that this is a show that delivers on what it promises: a fresh and gory spin on an incredibly common trope.

Hell Motel premieres with a two-episode premiere on Shudder on June 17th. New episodes release weekly.