‘Portal to Hell’ Brings Its Laundromat Gateway to VOD This September
A routine trip to the laundromat becomes considerably more complicated when eternal damnation enters the equation in Portal to Hell, the upcoming horror-comedy from writer and director Woody Bess.
Cineverse will release the genre-bending film on Digital and Video on Demand September 8, 2026, bringing Portal to Hell to wider audiences following a festival run that included Slamdance Film Festival, FrightFest, Chattanooga Film Festival, Calgary Underground Film Festival and Vancouver Horror Show.
The film stars Trey Holland (Battleship, John Carter), Romina D’ugo (12 Monkeys, Law & Order: SVU), Keith David (The Thing, They Live) and Richard Kind (Inside Out, Argo).
Holland plays a debt collector whose otherwise routine existence is disrupted when he discovers that a portal to hell has opened inside his local laundromat. The supernatural development is followed by the arrival of a demon with an offer that makes the situation considerably worse.
Three souls in exchange for one.
The demon gives him an opportunity to prevent his neighbor from being dragged to hell, but doing so requires delivering three other souls in return. The bargain sends the unlikely protagonist into a desperate attempt to navigate the supernatural arrangement while finding some way to save his neighbor from eternal damnation.
It’s a premise that gives Bess considerable room to play with the absurdity of placing something as enormous as a gateway to hell inside one of the most mundane locations imaginable. Rather than an ancient castle, abandoned church or occult ritual site, the doorway to eternal torment is sitting inside a neighborhood laundromat.
The combination of horror and comedy also puts the performances of veteran character actors David and Kind to good use alongside Holland and D’ugo, with the film balancing its supernatural stakes against the increasingly strange situation surrounding its central bargain.
Portal to Hell has already spent time in front of genre audiences. HMU caught the film during its Slamdance run a few years ago and found plenty to enjoy about its unusual approach to horror-comedy. Its September release will now give the film an opportunity to reach audiences beyond the festival circuit.
Bess writes and directs the feature, which is produced by Holland, Lucas Ford, Tom Watts and Bess. Dionne Lea, David, George Loucas, Matthew Dean Russell, John Frederick and Christina Jobe serve as executive producers.
With a portal in the laundromat, a demon ready to negotiate and three souls standing between one man and his neighbor’s damnation, Portal to Hell puts a supernatural spin on the idea that no good deed comes without a price.
Cineverse releases Portal to Hell on Digital and Video on Demand September 8, 2026.
I find the concept of blending horror and humor in "Portal to Hell" fascinating! It reminds me how some platformer games use quirky worlds to convey deep themes. How do you think this film explores that balance?
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