Reframe Spotlight: 'Hell House'

Seen by over 10,000 visitors each year, the "Hell House" is performed annually in October by youth members of the Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas and is dedicated to scaring teens straight about what happens when they stray from keeping on the path the church provides.

Directed by George Ratliff (Joshua), Hell House pulls a curtain behind the spectacle, celebrating its 20th edition, to show the family that's largely involved in the haunted house and how gruesome skits—everything from drug abuse and drunk driving to anti-homosexuality and abortion rights—are absorbed by those who visit.

As Dave Kehr observes for The New York Times: "Mr. Ratliff wisely rejects the temptation to make fun of his subjects, most of whom seem to believe sincerely that they are doing the work of God… [He] allows the organizers' lack of knowledge to speak for itself."  

To rent or buy Hell House, go to the Reframe Collection.