“Hellhole” on Netflix is a 2022 Polish psychological horror drama film that revolves around the ugly truths of individuals who portray themselves as followers of God. This film is fast-paced and includes multiple twists and turns to keep one hooked until the very end. Moreover, the lead characters in this movie have given exemplary performances, which in turn creep one out. At the beginning of “Hellhole,” viewers will be drawn back to the year 1957 in Lower Silesia, Poland. A priest is desperately looking for different ways to kill an infant referred to as the evil seed. He asks for protection from the almighty before plunging a dagger through his chest, but the priest is stopped by the local officers and shot down before he commits the crime. The movie takes a huge leap forward of thirty years, and here viewers will be introduced to the main character of this film. He travels down to the desolate sanatorium on the outskirts of Poland, claiming to be Father Marek. The priests of this monastery greet him wholeheartedly as they seem to be blessed by his presence. The leader of this monastery appreciates him since they couldn’t find people to help them with their exorcism process. Several people are sent down to the sanatorium to be freed from the clutches of the Devil. With time, it is clear that Marek has arrived with a different aim.
The officials from the sanatorium check his belongings since they want their patients to be safe from things that are harmful to their community, but Marek is smart. He hid a compartment under his bag with all the necessary items that could help him in the future. He is armed with ammunition and carries enough supplies to record proof. Well, in reality, Marek is a militia officer looking for information related to the missing cases of eight different women who were sent to the sanatorium claiming to be possessed. Later, Marek starts to look for clues to get more details on the priests that constantly work under the leader, Prior Andrzej. From the very beginning, Marek had a very odd feeling about everyone present in the monastery, and things became even more creepy when Marek had to consume meat for dinner.
This meat had a very strange taste to it, and Marek couldn’t consume it well for the first time, but he managed to finish it. The story takes a different turn when Marek is revealed to be the same boy who was once on the verge of being murdered by the priest in 1957. He carried the same mark as the baby on his chest. For his first exorcism, Marek is tormented by witnessing the condition of the girl who was possessed. Everything around him began moving with heavy winds, and Marek almost lost all control over himself. Devastated by the sights, Marek decides to refresh himself in the bathroom, and amidst this, he discovers a huge crack in the bathroom mirror. To his surprise, the crack leads to a secret room where all the exorcism tapes are kept sorted. Moreover, he discovered them to be completely fake; the priests were faking the exorcisms with a staged set.
Father Piotr catches him in the act and commands him to meet in the confession room. Here, all the disturbing details are revealed; Father Piotr confesses to all the dirty crimes of the sanatorium and claims to be a part of them. He tried his best to escape the monastery, but he was severely punished for his actions. The sanatorium fakes these acts to gain money from the Vatican, and there is a huge possibility that all the missing women were drugged to look like they were possessed. Well, Marek’s doubts are completely cleared since he found an injection with sedatives in it. The women were killed and buried to earn money since the priests claimed that these women went insane from the exorcisms. But for some reason, Father Piotr trusts Marek and wants him to find a way to get them out. Well, Marek is scared since Piotr informed him about the suspicions against him.
He frantically searches around the room to look for cameras but finds a black hole behind his cupboard. He puts his hand through the hole and discovers a cursed charm, which consists of human bones and an eye. The sight of this charm makes him puke a strange black liquid, and now Marek gets desperate; he frantically runs around the monastery looking for clues, only to find the coffins empty. But before he can discover anything else, Marek is attacked by Brother Dawid. After he gains consciousness, Marek finds himself tied to the bed while the leader, Prior, forces him to eat four portions of meat. But the next day, Marek manages to rescue himself, and in the process, he shoots Dawid down with his gun. Father Piotr manages to find him, and here, Marek discovers the ugly truth, resulting in the disappearance of the eight missing women.
The bodies of these women were hanging while parts of their organs were removed, and all these missing parts were cooked in a huge pot. So, for all these days, Marek was feeding on human flesh. To help him understand more about the secrets of the sanatorium, Father Piotr takes him to the library and enlightens Marek about his history. The book is ancient and contains the details of the chosen one who would be possessed by the Devil himself. A child has to be slain right after his birth through a particular ritual, and this child would become a vessel for Satan. The book is filled with symbols, and the same symbol is marked on Marek’s chest. Father Piotr immediately reveals that he is the chosen one and that he has to escape before the other authorities reach him. But he betrays Marek and hands him over to the priests.
The priests tie him up near the hellhole and begin their preparations to summon the Devil. To revive him, the chosen one has to consume the flesh of seven women, including the blood of an innocent, but despite all this, Marek doesn’t transform. All of them waited for this day to assist the Devil with the creation of a new world. But their efforts didn’t work, so Marek was killed and thrown into the hellhole to hide his body. Leader Prior is devastated and consumes alcohol to hide his pain. But Father Piotr strangles him with a pillow to take his place. Well, the next morning, all the evidence is burned to avoid any conflict. The story takes a catastrophic turn as Father Piotr vanishes in thin air and, behind him, emerges the Devil, who is Marek. So, the ritual worked, and now Marek has been transformed into a demon. All the priests try to escape him, but he freezes them and turns them into the Devil’s crucifix. The Devil has finally woken up as he shrieks maniacally while staring at the statue of Jesus, and the movie ends with the sky breaking apart, making an entrance to hell.
