There’s no better month than October to watch spine-chilling horror movies. From the start of the month, every streaming platform should have original horror flicks ready for viewers seeking scares. Well, Tubi — the number one place for seemingly unlimited low-budget productions — surprisingly doesn’t have many movies in the genre this year. However, Tubi did add two films worth discussing: a slasher horror, Dante’s Hotel, and a crime-horror-action fusion, The Devil Comes to Kansas City. Let’s cut to the chase — one is much better than the other.
Starring several familiar names, like AnnaLynne McCord (most recently starring in Days of Our Lives), Ted Raimi (Evil Dead II, Spider-Man), and Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Dante’s Hotel takes place in — you guessed it — a hotel on New Year’s Eve. We not only have to ignore the fact that two holidays are being meshed into this movie for some odd reason, but we also have to watch the characters desperately try to ignore the fact that the NYE party is the same date as when 12 people were killed 12 years earlier.
McCord plays the event planner Goldie Stanton, Raimi is the hotel’s manager, and Nelson is the cryptic, foreboding tenant that everybody brushes aside. Seeing Goldie run around in a shiny dress, trying to stop Father Time from gruesomely killing innocent partygoers, is unintentionally hilarious. This movie is certainly a cheesy masterpiece.
Father Time Needs Sacrifices in ‘Dante’s Hotel’
It’s pretty admirable that the monster of this movie — which is Father Time — was created using practical effects. But therein lies the problem. The attempt to transform a Spirit Halloween-like costume into an actual terrifying monster is admittedly a hard battle in itself. Yes, indeed. The worst decision made in this movie was having this hulking murderer with a scythe suddenly start moving and talking like a regular person. You can at least look forward to the kills, as they get more creative throughout the movie. There’s also a well-done shot of a portal to hell towards the end of the film. As a result of trying to make a more modern (but cheaper) version of Evil Dead, there is certainly a fun aspect to this slasher that could fill a scary movie night. Raimi’s presence adds to this tone, his short, cutting voice introducing a different kind of fear to this hotel party dynamic.
On the other hand, the more mature-themed second release, titled The Devil Comes to Kansas City, does not know what it wants to be. Actor Ben Gavin plays husband-turned-mercenary Paul Wilson, and Robert Coppage plays a musician in a long line of familial guitar players who made a deal with the devil. In an odd turn of events, these reunited friends have to team up to take down a child trafficker who is holding Paul’s daughter hostage.
The movie starts with a flashback detailing Robert’s origins and ends with him breaking his evil contract, but the rest of the plot follows Paul. The film’s obscene nudity and extreme violence feel out of place in a story about rescuing a child. Horror movies are known to have scarring conclusions sometimes, but The Devil Comes to Kansas City takes it to another level.
Powers, Guitar Guns, and ‘The Devil In Kansas City’
Roughly 20 minutes in, Paul’s wife is killed by the same people who kidnap his daughter. Young Rebecca (played by Makenzie Sims — one of the better actors in this movie) dies due to her diabetes complications. Paul himself is killed later on in a fight with the main antagonist, who is shot at the last minute by Randall and his guitar crossbow. Even though none of the family survives, the movie tries to force a happy ending on viewers by having the three of them reunite in the afterlife, smiling and hugging. The musician has his curse lifted for doing a good deed. This preposterous ending ruins everything that this movie could have been. The Devil Comes to Kansas City really feels like two separate stories forced into one script — which, in the process, did more harm than good.
The clear winner between the two films is Dante’s Hotel. While it’s not perfect, this Anthony C. Ferrante-directed Halloween flick dedicates itself to a very streamlined story. There is one setting, one villain, and distinct personalities that help to define the characters. Sure, the sparsely decorated interior isn’t much to look at, but there is a sense of chilling excitement when the antagonist lures unsuspecting partygoers into the VIP room. You know the kill is going to happen, you just don’t know how.
The Devil Comes to Kansas City certainly doesn’t have moments like that. Instead, the movie tries to throw many twisted scenes at viewers, hoping some stick. Each of these shock-value moments feels superfluous to the already confusing story. Dante’s Hotel and The Devil Comes to Kansas City are both currently streaming on Tubi for free.
