Panic Fest Film Festival Coverage
Jeffrey’s Hell review
A meta found footage sequel that succeeds in spite of every one of those words.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Jeffrey’s Hell
Directed by Aaron Irons
Written by Aaron Irons
Starring Aaron Irons, Jasson Cring, Josh Croft, Steve Cross, Marissa Kaye, Jessejames Locorriere and Hunter Redfern
Jeffrey’s Hell Review
Let’s play a little “two truths and a lie”. In 2022, writer/director Aaron Irons released a found footage movie called Chest. The cast and crew of that movie play themselves as talking heads in a meta found footage movie called Jeffrey’s Hell. Aaron Irons disappeared while filming that movie. Obviously, the lie is the last one…but it is the plot of this sequel to Chest. A clever concept for a filmmaker who wanted to revisit the story without repeating the work.
Full disclosure time: I’ve never seen Chest. Jeffrey’s Hell gives you enough information about it that not having done so won’t hinder your enjoyment of it. It’s not a straight sequel, after all. None of the characters from the first movie appear in this movie. The people who played them do. They make up the interview segments presented around the footage Irons (also playing himself) was shooting when he disappeared. The added level of realism is a benefit to Jeffrey’s Hell. Especially when some of the interviewees repeatedly confide that they assume he’s just pulling a publicity stunt.
For the most part, Jeffrey’s Hell plays out like similar stories even with the added layer of meta commentary. We learn all about Irons as a character and the lore of the region he travels to. The Jeffrey of the titular Hell was a man named Ebenezer Jeffrey. The area is named after him for, as you’d imagine, some dark reasons. Setting out to save his dogs, Jeffrey said he’d rather burn in Hell than leave his dogs behind. He was never seen again. Locals fittingly dubbed the area…Jeffrey’s Hell.
Irons set Chest in the same area…basing it on another legend. He returns, in the alleged real world, in search of another legend. He is sent coordinates to a cave in Jeffrey’s Hell and tries to gather the troops for another adventure. The cast of Chest doesn’t share his interested and, to a man, bails on his quest. Irons knows you should never hike alone…especially when you plan to travel into a cave…but he’s already made the drive…
The first set of footage we see is what Irons leaves outside of the cave before entering. It’s found by the people looking for him when he fails to return home. One thing they don’t find? A cave entrance. There are no caves in Jeffrey’s Hell. Since we can clearly see him entering one…it lends credence to the theory that this is all an elaborate ruse. Footage he must have filmed elsewhere before dropping it off in the woods. Meanwhile, Irons disappearance has attracted the attention of the FBI. An operation not normally interested in missing person cases. They ask a lot of questions about Europe for some reason. We learn why soon enough. That’s where the second part of his footage was found.
If finding the footage in Europe lends itself to the publicity stunt theory…watching it suggests something else entirely. Things take a surreal turn inside of the cave that shouldn’t exist in Jeffrey’s Hell. After finding human remains…Irons’ rope is somehow detached leaving him stranded at the bottom of the cave. Strange noises are expected…and even explainable. A ringing telephone that lets him talk to someone on the other end? Not so much. Things only get weirder from there.
The surrealism of the final act is the highlight of a movie that has no trouble keeping your attention to that point. Things get genuinely scary in unexpected ways. We won’t talk about what happens here…but this is no ordinary cave. Of course, Irons could just be losing his mind. The fear of inevitable death creeping in. Except…that wouldn’t explain how we can see everything that is going on. Or how this footage found its way to the other side of the ocean. You’ll get some answers…and be left with some questions. Always on purpose.
Jeffrey’s Hell is an effective found footage movie both in its second half horror execution and the outside the box nature of its first half. A clever way to expand the lore of a region without being trapped by the world created in the original. If there is a way to pull this story out even further from another perspective…I truly hope Irons finds it.
Scare Value
A more interesting than usual set-up leads to a worthwhile pay-off in the increasingly surreal Jeffrey’s Hell. Aaron Irons turns the camera on himself and heads into the unknown. Utilizing the cast of Chest as themselves to provide background on Irons and his work is a brilliant stroke. Found footage movies strive, above all else, to feel real. The extra layer of realism works in its favor…and makes the movie’s late turn towards the bizarre land even stronger.
