On November 6th, 2024, the 9,000th article was added to the SuccuWiki!
Invitation to Hell
For other uses of the word Succubus, or movies involving Succubi, see Succubus (disambiguation).
Invitation to Hell is a 1984 made for TV movie.
Overview
Title: Invitation to Hell Rating: Unrated Studio: Lions Gate DVD Release Date: August 19, 2003 Original Release Date: May 24, 1984 Run Time: 96 minutes ASIN: B00009YXGW
Cast
| Greg Serano | Tomas Alcala |
| Gina Ravera | Det. Rachel Dressler |
| Mary Mara | Munkar |
| Rebecca Harrell | Nakir |
| William B. Davis | Father Michael |
| Antonio Cupo | Brother Gregory |
| Jay Brazeau | Abbot |
| Simon Wong | Wade |
| Boyan Vukelic | Playland Guard |
| Brian Drummond | Officer #1 |
| Peter Bryant | Officer #2 |
| Lisa Dahling | Officer #3 |
| Kris Pope | BrotherRafael |
| Robin Mossley | Clark |
| Donna Yamamoto | Irate Mother |
| Justine Wong | Little Girl |
| David Thomson | Vince |
| Linda Darlow | Sister Stephen |
| Art Hindle | Morgan Rand |
| Colin Lawrence | Steve |
Plot Summary
When a family moves to a suburban California neighborhood, everything is going great. The neighbors are nice, the neighborhood is clean, and there is a local health spa close to their house that everyone in the town belongs to. At first they consider joining it until their neighbors and co-workers hassle them constantly for not doing it right away. They start to get a little suspicious towards why they are so interested in them joining, but not the point where they think something is wrong. The wife and kids are up for it, but the dad is skeptical and fears a bit of evil in the spa. Is the dad just a little superstitious or is the spa really a Invitation to Hell?
Critical Review
Review taken from Horror.com.
Reviewed by By: stacilayne on 12-05-2004
Rating: 1.9/5
Also known as Clive Barker’s Saint Sinner, this movie was originally produced for the Sci-Fi Channel and has seen a DVD run in the past year. Of course, the studios are famous for releasing several different versions of the same film, hoping to either snag someone who hasn’t seen the movie or to get loyal fans to buy the same movie twice.
This DVD version of Saint Sinner has new commentary by Clive Barker and is unrated, showing scenes that were too racy for TV. Despite the addition of more boobs and blood, Saint Sinner is not any better; to paraphrase its tagline — The Flesh Is Weak — the movie is essentially weak.
It’s got some things going for it. The plot, based on a story by Clive Barker, has an interesting premise: In 1815 a monk named Tomas Alcala (Greg Serano) unintentionally unleashes two demonic female succubi upon an unsuspecting 21st century. Tomas is chosen by God to journey through the centuries and put the kibosh on the demons’ deadly shenanigans (why God would choose him, when he’s the screw-up who caused the whole fiasco in the first place, is not explained).
Meanwhile, the succubi sisters, Munkar (Mary Mara) and Nakir (Rebecca Harrell), are having a good old time, slinking around, sexing it up, and the sucking the life-forces out of anyone who will stand still long enough. Corny special effects and over-the-top dialogue are a big part of these little outings, and the girls run unchecked until Brother Tomas catches up with them.
Tomas finds more than trouble when Detective Rachel Dressler (Gina Ravera) goes after him, making Tomas the prime suspect in the series of gruesome murders the succubi are actually responsible for. Needless to say, Tomas protests his innocence and proves to the cop that supernatural forces are at work — they decide that two heads are better than one (especially one that’s severed) and team up to stop the evil imps.
While Saint Sinner is a fairly weak film when compared with Clive Barker’s usual standard of work, it is somewhat above-average in comparison to more of the Sci-Fi Channel’s original productions. If you like time travel, gratuitous sex and violence, and religious themes, then Saint Sinner might be worth the price of a rental. Buy it only if you’re a fan of Barker and would like to listen to his over-the-movie commentary — he’s always a source of enlightenment and fascination, no matter what he’s talking about.
External Links
- Invitation to Hell at the IMDb.