Down in a hole
Illinois Hell Hole review
Rating – 
This wasn’t the review I had intended to post this week. I have been desperately trying to clear my backlog of (at best) half written reviews that silently mock me every time I open my docs folder.
“Call yourself a writer?” They say
“You can’t even string 500 words together about me!”
I am trying though, I really am.
A few days ago I had a message via my Facebook page about a new comedy show called Illinois Hell Hole. I listened to the first three episodes, that’s all that’s out so far, and when I messaged back, I got sent the whole story in one big chunk to enjoy! That, my friends, is what they call “perks of the job”. Now if only I could make an actual living at this…
But anyway.
This therefore, is a very hot off the press review of Illinois Hell Hole, it will also be spoiler free, because I’m not a meanie.
So what’s it about?
Back in the 1930s, small town snakeoil salesman Rabin, has fallen on hard times. After the death of his mother, he makes a wish that she would come back to him. Now, I’m sure all of you are well read enough to know exactly why you should never wish something like that, but apparently Rabin isn’t. So he does. Cue violent retribution from beyond the grave, and poor Rabin getting thrown into a hole. A very, very deep hole indeed.
It turns out this hole is a portal to hell, and it can grant wishes… as long as you supply it with a fresh body.
Fast forward to the present day, where spoiled emo synth nerd Ned is desperately trying (and failing) to make his mark on the LA music scene. After the sudden death of his parents, Ned inherits the family farm in Illinois. This farm as it turns out, is the location of the hell hole, and the time is right for some new wishes to be granted, for a price.
Cue culture shocks, moral dilemmas, day drinking and analog synth appreciation.
You may ask why I have told so much of the story in what I originally said would be “spoiler free”. Well, dear reader, all this takes place in the first episode, so I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler.
Is it any good?
I am usually wary when I get offered comedy shows. A lot of them are not as funny as the creators think they are. There is obviously a market for it, but it’s just not for me. As such, initially I only listened to the show as a courtesy because it was sent to me.
Thankfully this show is brilliant.
The writing is very good indeed. Matt Brookens treads a fine line between clever and cliché which is not easy to do. A story like this needs that balance, and it’s something that other comedy shows could do with studying. It’s very easy to make every character a cardboard cutout movie trope, but in a comedy you need to keep everything just trope-y enough. It’s the seasoning that sets a skippable show from a bingeable one.
The sound design is also very good. There can be a tendency to keep all the wonderful whiz-bangs very high in the mix so you can appreciate them. The point of sound design is to compliment the story though, and here it really does.
Having said all that, there is some patchy acting, but nothing worth really complaining about. You can tell that the voice actors here have some serious chops when it comes to audio dramas.
Final thoughts
The way this show was pitched was “a movie for your ears”. This is a line I’ve heard many times before, all the way back to the PNWS podcasts like TANIS. This really is that though. I was really spoiled having the whole thing to listen to in one go.
It reminds me of the Kevin Smith produced TV show Reaper. I don’t know if you remember it, it was cancelled after one series and the story was never resolved. If you liked that, then check this out, or vice versa.
You can get Illinois Hell Hole here:
https://www.greatpods.co/podcasts/illinois-hell-hole-8005913
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods