‘Bowels of Hell’ Review – Constipation Becomes Metaphor in Gross-Out Horror Comedy

Brazilian horror comedy Bowels of Hell gleefully keeps its head in the toilet in its gross-out depiction of an apartment building so caught up in its own crap that they don’t notice disgustingly cursed plumbing until it’s too late. Writers/Directors Gurcius Gewdner and Gustavo Vinagre don’t hold back on gag-inducing potty horror, creating a strange backdrop to its prominent and ambitious social commentary that skewers generational divides, gender politics, and emotional constipation.

Martha Nowill stars as Malu, a busy mom with a thriving career in event planning. She specializes in gender reveal parties, causing conflict with Malu’s rebellious, nonbinary child, Genesis (Benjamín Damini), especially as she takes on new jobs from clients, including a pregnant neighbor. But that’s the least of Malu’s problems; the single mom also has severe trauma and residual bowel movement issues stemming from the horrific death of her other child via freak toilet accident. Only, it wasn’t an accident.

The toilets have had enough of the tenants’ shit.

Gewdner and Vinagre channel early Peter Jackson for their splattery mayhem, ensuring no bodily fluids are ignored in their tactile explorations of goopy, nasty, cursed toilet madness. The practical effects achieve maximum gross-out effect, and the deaths can be gnarly. But they’re also employed sparingly, at least at first, as they set up a pressure cooker scenario for their characters. That means that it’s metaphor first, gnarly horror second. The good news is that the filmmakers save the best for last, delivering a gory punchline that finally frees clogged bowels in more ways than one.