A botched exorcism. A soul in limbo and a demon duking it out with an angel to decide its fate. These are the building blocks that make up Jason Sheedy’s To Hell With You, the best horror comedy of 2024 by a long shot.
A young man’s life comes to a rather untimely and violent end when his exorcism at the hands of a priest (Matthew Noonan) goes horribly wrong. A silver bullet to the head sends blood spattering across the room to the shock of a horrified mother (Claire Christie). But brain matter wasn’t the only thing evacuated, as the freshly expelled demon (Brett Brooks) begins the process of dragging the boy’s spirit to hell. But soon enough, the angel Esme (Erin Ownbey) appears before him, sparking a fierce back-and-forth battle for a single soul.
Cleansings of this kind have gone wrong in mainstream horror before, with recent entries in The Conjuring franchise coming to mind. Yet the aftermath of such damnation is left more to the audience’s imagination. Here, we get to see the unholy fallout, and it couldn’t be more profound and, quite frankly, hilarious. The demon named Doyle is hell-bent on taking what technically belongs to him by right of possession, while Esme pleads her case to grant the young man some form of salvation. The last thing you’d expect is for all this to turn into a group therapy session that debates the rights and wrongs of an incomplete life, but that is what To Hell With You gives us, and it’s a thought-provoking debate of morality. What else is there to say? Not much; you’ll probably be too busy laughing at all the slapstick gags and clever writing that Sheedy has masterminded for the two supernatural entities.
Pleasantly retro in its style (thanks in no small part to outstanding cinematography by Noonan), like SHUDDER’s recent hit Late Night With The Devil, the film fires on all cylinders when it comes to its blocking, visual effects, and sound design. When the angel Esme threatens to unleash her true heavenly form, you hope to see a glimpse of that, and the VFX artists deliver big time. Convincing makeup work is also present, especially where the demon himself named Doyle is concerned.
Like a drunk uncle of the infernal variety, Doyle is a character you’ll love to loathe, and it’s all thanks to Brett Brooks’ brilliant turn in the role. He may not be the scariest demon on the block, but he’s certainly the funniest, and the bravado Brooks brings to him is one-half of why the short works so well. Not to be outdone, Ownbey is Doyle’s perfect foil, lighting up the room with a dose of firm but fair authority. Nestled in the middle of the both of them is Andrew Bourne, who quietly steals the show with a wonderful performance that balances the forces of Heaven and Hell with innocent bewilderment.
To Hell With You is a soul-snatching good time, effortlessly entertaining on every front!
