''Hall'', also stylized as ''HALL'', is a 2020 Canadian mystery horror film that was directed by Francesco Giannini.

Synopsis

Two women, each dealing with unhappy marriages, find themselves trapped in a hotel hallway as a deadly airborne virus ravages the hotel clientele and the outside world.

Cast

Julian Richings Julian Richings (born 30 August 1956)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at Ancestry.com is a British-Canadian character actor. He has appeared in over 225 films and television series. Career After touring t ...

as Julian *

Carolina Bartczak Carolina Bartczak (born October 5, 1985) is a Canadian actress of Polish descent. She is known for her role as Magda Lehnsherr, the wife of Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, in '' X-Men: Apocalypse'' and as Maura Mackenzie in the CBC film ''An Audience ...

as Val *

Yumiko Shaku is a Japanese actress, model and former gravure idol. She is represented by Tommy's Artist Company. Roles TV Dramas *2019: ''Kamen Rider Zi-O is a Japanese tokusatsu drama in the Toei Company's ''Kamen Rider'' franchise. It is the twe ...

as Naomi *

Vlasta Vrana Vlasta may refer to: *Vlasta (given name) Vlasta is a woman’s name. The Slavic base of the word, vlast, means ''homeland''. It is also the short form of the masculine names Vlastimil and Vlastislav. Name Day *In the Czech calendar: ''December ...

as Peter * Christopher James Giannini as Piano man * Dawn Ford as Christine * Mark Gibson as Branden *

Kathleen Fee Kathleen Fee (born in Montreal, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name ...

as Betty * Bailey Thain as Kelly * Val Mervis as Dianne * Genti Bejko as Jonah *

Kim Richardson Kim Richardson (born December 22, 1965) is a Canadian singer and actress,

as Dolores

Production

Director Francesco Giannini became interested in ''Hall'' after being approached by screenwriter Adam Kolodny. Giannini had previously worked with co-writer Derrick Adams and was intrigued by the question "what would happen if vaccines were created intentionally for purposes of government control and for the profit of the pharmaceutical industry, not necessarily to cure viruses?" The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Giannini, who had previously directed short movies and worked as an actor and extra. Actress Yumiko Shaku was brought on to portray Naomi, one of the film's protagonists. Giannini has noted that Shaku was "an integral part in getting ''HALL'' made" and that "Without Yumiko’s involvement, the film would not have the same impact." Filming took place in a working hotel over twelve days and used primarily practical effects, as Giannini wanted it to be "an ode to the older horror films from the ’70s and ’80s that helped inspire my love of cinema".

Release

''Hall'' premiered on August 30, 2020, at FrightFest.

Reception

''Hall'' has a rating of on review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on reviews. Common elements of praise centered around Giannini's choice of filming location, acting, and the movie's premise. Ginger Nuts of Horror also praised the themes of domestic abuse, writing that they "play very well with a realistic subtly more akin to these actual relationships." Criticism focused upon the script, which Flickering Myth felt was "shockingly padded" and Ginger Nuts of Horror wrote "needed another solid rewrite to tackle obvious storytelling issues."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 9054692 2020 horror films 2020 films English-language Canadian films 2020s English-language films Films about viral outbreaks Films set in hotels Canadian mystery horror films 2020s mystery horror films 2020s Canadian films