This is basically a review of both a web comic and the short film based on it, as Welcome to Hell’s creator Erica Wester claims the short film is the defining representation of the story. Fair enough, because both the comic and the film are quite well done, and arguably worthy of a full series someday. I think I’d love to see something like this air on Adult Swim’s lineup, it’d be noticeably different from everything else.
It’s hard to get gallows humor right. If you go too far with it you risk losing a good chunk of your audience, and if you don’t go far enough then the jokes won’t have much bite to them. I mention Adult Swim because- and I’m not knocking them, they’ve aired tons of stuff I love, like Venture Brothers, Mike Tyson Mysteries, Boondocks, etc – but they’ve also had misfires like 12 Oz. Mouse and Mr. Pickles, where the goal is basically just to be as gross and nonsensical as possible. Welcome To Hell on the other hand balances morbid humor with an undercurrent of sweetness, and has a concept I think could easily be developed into a really entertaining TV or web series with a clear mythology behind it.
It isn’t made explicitly clear why protagonist Napoleon Maxwell Sowachowski (or “Sock”, which is more convenient than it is silly) has homicidal tendencies since b all accounts his parents were pretty kind and loving, but after an extended period of using them on small animals he turns his prized possession kitchen knife on the three of them have in a murder suicide. The audience never sees the deaths of the first two, just his and the immediate aftermath. And because I always wind up reviewing a lot of things with demons in them, he’s sent down to the hot place.
Mephistopheles decides to take advantage of his raw talents and recruits him as a spectre that will haunt chosen humans on Earth, ideally driving them mad enough to take their own lives. Sock agrees, but unfortunately he starts to develop a sense of caring for his first client, Jonathan Chase. This eventually grows into an odd friendship that impedes with his new line of work.
Just based on this and the extensive concept art from Wester, there’s a huge opportunity to expand Welcome To Hell into a high caliber work. Her sense of humor is dark without coming across too poor, and her art direction is charming and expressive- Sock in particular is adorable, though he does remind me a bit of Double D from Ed Edd and Eddy. (How many homies has Sock lost since then, I wonder? I’ll bet he doesn’t feel…. blessed.)
Ok, enough of the hip hop references. Welcome To Hell is funny and clever, and you can check out the official production blog, the short film and more here!