A group of friends travels to a campsite to film a documentary about a mysterious bell that, according to legend, summons a murderer if rung at midnight. A film by Colton Tran, starring Reid Miller, Kathleen Kenny, Mike Manning, Cathy Marks, Alexis B. Santiago, Capri-Antoine Vaillancourt, and Randy Couture.

Night descends. Gary (Nick Theurer), a young man, flees a house in terror, blood oozing from his ear. His girlfriend Nadine (Bailey Castle), is tied to a chair inside, screamig “Gary! Run!”. Gary sprints through the woods, pursued by a shadowy figure wielding an axe. The assailant catches Gary and throws him to the ground. “You shouldn’t have rung the bell,” the figure intones before brutally murdering him. The figure then returns to the house and kills Nadine.

Matthew (Mike Manning) and his girlfriend, Holly (Cathy Marks), visit his younger brother Liam (Reid Miller) at his RV Winnebago, where he lives. Matthew asks to borrow the RV for a trip to Bell Lake, where Holly will be directing a documentary about an urban legend that claims more than 200 people have gone missing in the area.

Matthew is also accompanied by Megan (Alexis B. Santiago), the host of the documentary, and her boyfriend Gabriel (Capri-Antoine Vaillancourt). He initially plans to take the RV while Liam stays at his dorm, but Liam informs Matthew that he recently dropped out of college and will drive the RV to Bell Lake. Liam has no choice but to let his brother drive.

As they stop for gas at a rundown gas station, Liam encounters Brittany (Kathleen Kenny), a young woman handing out flyers of a missing person. Brittany is also heading to Bell Lake, the last known location of her missing brother, Gary.

Matthew and Gabriel enter to purchase snacks, where they meet Sheriff Carlson (Chaz Bono) and the owner Jodie (Bonnie Aarons), who both warn them against going to Bell Lake after they inquire about directions.

That night, Liam returns to his RV and falls asleep with his headphones on. Meanwhile, Matthew, Holly, Megan, and Gabriel set out to film the mysterious bell near the campsite at Bell Lake. According to urban legend, three virgins were sacrificed under a full moon in 1876 by a satanic priest named Hank (Randy Couture), in the hope of opening a portal to hell. Hank has vanished ever since, and it is believed that ringing the bell at midnight will summon his spirit.

Holly rings the bell at midnight, but nothing happens. They conclude that the legend of the bell is just another hoax. However, Matthew and Holly soon start to feel strange. Matthew follows Holly to the restroom, where he finds her standing in a stall with blood bleeding out of her ear. It is revealed that anyone who hears the sound of the mysterious bell will be possessed by demons.

The BELL KEEPER establishes a interesting premise by building a classic story on an urban legend, and attempts to subvert its predictable trajectory with a twisted tale. The simple premise is terrifying: if you hear the bell, you will be possessed by a demon, your soul will be lost, and there is no turning back.

However, the film never delves deeper into this premise. The possessed humans simply transform into violent monsters with grotesque faces, without obvious purpose or goal. It features some comedic moments, but most of the characters are either annoyingly preachy or speak in cringey dialogue. Ultimately, the film fails to live up to its potential, wasting too much time on character development that is irrelevant to the slasher genre.

The BELL KEEPER was theatrically released in the United States on Friday the 13th October 2023 and was released digitally on the same day.