Five Gates to Hell

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"White women enslaved in war-torn Indo-China!"
  • Approved
  • 1959
  • 1 hr 38 min
  • 5.8  (221)

Five Gates to Hell is a 1959 war/horror movie directed by James Clavell and starring Dolores Michaels, Patricia Owens, and Neville Brand. The plot revolves around a group of soldiers who are tasked with escorting a scientist and his daughter through war-torn Cambodia to a remote research facility. However, things quickly go awry when they discover that the facility is actually a secret laboratory conducting experiments on prisoners and using them to develop a serum that could help Western powers win the war.

The movie begins with a shot of soldiers trekking through the jungle, with voiceover narration explaining that they are part of a covert mission to protect a scientist named Dr. Dan Stoddard and his daughter Lucille. The soldiers are led by Sergeant Mike, a gruff but capable leader who quickly establishes himself as the film’s main protagonist. Along the way, the group face a number of obstacles, including ambushes by the Viet Cong and damaged bridges that require them to ford treacherous rivers.

As they near their destination, the soldiers encounter a group of prisoners who have been released from the research facility following an explosion. Among the prisoners is a treacherous criminal named Corby, who immediately begins to play both sides against each other in an attempt to secure his own freedom. As the soldiers and prisoners reach the laboratory, they find it heavily guarded and seemingly impenetrable. But with Corby’s help, they devise a plan to infiltrate the facility and rescue Dr. Stoddard and Lucille.

Inside the lab, the soldiers discover that the research being conducted is far more sinister than they ever could have imagined. The scientists are using prisoners as subjects for experiments, injecting them with a potent serum that causes them to mutate and become violent. The serum is intended to create an army of super-soldiers that could help Western countries win the war, but instead it is creating a legion of monsters.

The soldiers are quickly overwhelmed by the mutated prisoners, who begin to fight back against their captors. In a series of tense action scenes, Sergeant Mike and his men fight their way through the facility, attempting to find Dr. Stoddard and escape with their lives. But the further they delve into the laboratory, the more horrific the experiments become, and it soon becomes clear that they may not make it out alive.

Overall, Five Gates to Hell is a tense and gripping war/horror movie that combines action and suspense in equal measure. The film’s special effects and makeup are impressive for their time, and the performances by Michaels, Owens, and Brand help to ground the story in an emotional reality. Although the movie has its share of predictable moments, it is still an enjoyable ride that will satisfy fans of both war movies and horror flicks alike.

Five Gates to Hell
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Description
  • Release Date
    1959
  • MPAA Rating
    Approved
  • Runtime
    1 hr 38 min
  • Language
    English
  • IMDB Rating
    5.8  (221)