Jean-Claude Van Damme is the human equivalent of many of his own cult-hit films. He was once a sex symbol and movie star, but his reputation fell hard during the new millennium. JCVD is a niche figure today, popping up in video games and goofy self-referential comedies. His career turning point was unquestionably JCVD, the 2008 black comedy in which he played himself. Just five years earlier, he was making gross schlock like In Hell for basically no one.
The other figure of interest involved in In Hell was its director, Ringo Lam. Lam was one of the most engaging figures in the Hong Kong New Wave of cinema. He helped enshrine the “heroic bloodshed” action subgenre in the nation’s history. His best project was probably City on Fire, which partially elevated Chow Yun-fat to action stardom. Lam’s American films are less impressive, though they almost always include JCVD.
Jean-Claude Van Damme isn’t In Hell, but He is on Paramount+’s Top Ten
In Hell is a wildly unpleasant mix between Jean-Claude Van Damme’s usual action routine and the prison exploitation genre. JCVD stars as Kyle LeBlanc, a man who earns himself a life sentence for publicly executing his wife’s killer. Kyle lands in Kravavi Prison, Russia’s nastiest and most corrupt correctional facility. He almost immediately sees inmates assaulting each other and struggles to fight for his life. The plot’s arguable central element is a consistent series of death matches between prisoners. Kyle hardens himself by fighting and killing several fellow inmates, but his long-term goal is a full-scale prison break. That almost sounds fun. It could be a slightly darker take on Bloodsport, one of Van Damme’s finest, but In Hell is a lot more interested in lurid exploitation. It doesn’t stack up to disturbing horror movies, but In Hell is way too gross to be enjoyable.
Most of Van Damme’s best films are either intentionally silly or fanciful enough to push past unpleasantness. Bloodsport is about a ton of martial artists killing each other in gladiatorial arenas, but it’s also a charming mess of tropes that stays compelling in its absurdity. JCVD’s best works seem to take themselves seriously, but they’re bathed in wild concepts. Hard Target addresses the treatment of homeless people, only to devolve into traditional action schlock. In Hell wants to use prison violence as a justification for JCVD’s usual kicks and punches. The problem is that you have to put up with watching characters suffer all manner of abuse for no good reason. Someone needed to put their foot down and decide whether they were making Nowhere to Run or The Shawshank Redemption. They can’t do both.
In Hell is one of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s lesser films, at least in terms of pure fun. I can’t recommend it to anyone, but audiences on Paramount seem to have found something to enjoy about it. Maybe JCVD’s face on the poster is enough to win people over. It wasn’t enough to secure a theatrical release or enough critics to acquire a Rotten Tomatoes score, but Van Damme still holds some appeal.
