"HellHoles" vs. "God, Inc.": Web Series Battle It Out With a Million Viewers

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By Anthony Kaufman January 30, 2007

Before there was "God, Inc." (episode 5 just went up on YouTube yesterday), there was "HellHoles." Inaugurated in early December with the relaunch of AtomFilms, "HellHoles" is the latest web-series phenomenon to take off. Directed by filmmakers Kyle Rankin and Efram Potelle ("The Battle of Shaker Heights"), the horror-comedy follows a hapless jerk who lives in a mobile home that's a gateway to hell. The first two episodes of the four-part series have been viewed nearly a million times on AtomFilms' website. The third episode debuts this Thursday.

Pitched as Evil Dead meets The Big Lebowski, the AtomFilms funded "HellHoles" follows an average guy (played by Rankin) going up against a litany of various ghouls, apparitions, and monsters. Shot in Topanga Canyon, California, the 3-and-a-half-minute webisodes showcase surprisingly good special effects -- using Maya and After Effects -- that lend an air of credibility and professionalism to the project.

As Potelle has recently explained, "We knew from the outset that the trailer and the evil inside it would need to be real and that the humor would come from the characters that found themselves trapped inside."

With its punchy one-liners ("I don't listen to hallucinations; I just want something to eat, man") and creepy sight-gags (blood flowing from a young girl's mouth), the demonic jokiness of "HellHoles" seems a perfect match for the short-form world of the web. But the divine "God, Inc." has a large cast of appealing characters and a more sophisticated sense of humor that has also won over several fans ("God, Inc's" first episode also has over 1 million views).

Who will win in the battle against Heaven and Hell? Judging from episode five of "God, Inc." called "Beating the Muslims (not really)," we know one thing about all this interest in the supernatural: it's definitely the Christians.