Paula Peril Hidden City 🔥 Must Try
Paula Peril and the Hidden City is a 2017 action-adventure short film that serves as a direct sequel to The Serpent Cult. It continues the saga of the intrepid investigative reporter Paula "Peril" Perillo, a character originally inspired by the popular comic book series The Adventures of Paula Peril. Plot Overview
In this installment, Paula finds herself deeply entangled in a brutal turf war between the local Mob and a resurgent, secretive Serpent Cult. Alongside her loyal photographer partner, Jimmy Smith, Paula uncovers long-buried secrets about the city's past while navigating a landscape where the lines between friend and foe are increasingly blurred.
The stakes escalate when Paula is captured by her deadliest adversary and placed in a seemingly inescapable death trap. The film emphasizes themes of investigative grit, pulp-style action, and the "cliffhanger" tension characteristic of the series. Cast and Production
Lead Star: Valerie Perez reprises her role as Paula Peril, a performance noted for capturing the character's intelligence and determination.
Supporting Cast: The film features Stephen Hanthorn as Jimmy Smith, Olivia Adams as the rival reporter Veronica Vilancourt, and John Fletcher as the mobster Carleoni.
Director: Jason Winn, who directed several other entries in the franchise.
Release Date: The film was released for download and DVD on December 15, 2017. Paula Peril and the Hidden City (Short 2017) - IMDb
In the 2017 film Paula Peril and the Hidden City , investigative reporter Paula "Peril" Perillo
, played by Valerie Perez, finds herself caught in the middle of a brutal war between the Mob and the secretive Serpent Cult. This "peril-packed" sequel follows the world's most adventurous reporter as she and her partner, photographer Jimmy Smith, uncover dark secrets from the city's past while navigating a landscape where the lines between friend and foe are dangerously blurred. Story Background and Themes
The Paula Peril series, published by Atlantis Studios, is inspired by 1940s mystery serials and silent film classics like The Perils of Pauline. The character is a tenacious investigator at the Big City Daily Gazette who frequently uncovers supernatural phenomena and organized crime, often ending up in elaborate cliffhanger-style death traps. Key Plot Elements in "Hidden City"
The Conflict: A newly-resurgent Serpent Cult—linked to the death of Paula’s mother—is at war with the local Mob.
The Trap: True to the series' name, Paula is captured by her deadliest enemy and placed in a desperate situation with no obvious hope for escape.
Expansion: The film serves as a direct sequel to The Serpent Cult and Midnight Whistle, expanding the lore of the Naztec rituals and the city’s underground power struggles.
Beyond the live-action short, the story has been adapted into a 100-page graphic novel that features original art and serves as a direct continuation of the movie's plot. The Adventures of Paula Peril: COMICS
Paula Peril and the Hidden City (2017) is an entertaining, high-quality installment in the long-running indie pulp series that skillfully captures the spirit of classic 1940s mystery serials. Core Story and Themes
The film follows investigative reporter Paula Perillo (Valerie Perez) and photographer Jimmy Smith as they are caught in a brutal urban war between the Italian Mob and the resurgent Serpent Cult. The plot shifts from standard investigative journalism into a high-stakes survival scenario involving: paula peril hidden city
The Serpent Cult: A secretive group revealed to have deep roots in the city's past, now seeking to control information through violence.
Classic Peril: True to the series’ name, the film features intense "cliffhanger-style" traps, including a sequence where Paula is chained to a cinder block and thrown into a deep swimming pool.
Believable Action: Unlike previous entries where the protagonist's combat skills bordered on superhuman, this chapter features more grounded, believable fight choreography, particularly a standout brawl between Paula and her rival, Veronica Vilancourt. Production and Performance
Valerie Perez as Paula: Critics and fans consistently praise Perez, stating she "owns the role" and perfectly captures Paula’s blend of intelligence, recklessness, and strength.
Technical Quality: Directed by Jason Winn, the film is noted for its elevated production values compared to earlier indie entries. Reviewers from IMDb highlight that the camerawork and music ensure it does not feel like a "cheap production."
Ensemble Cast: The film benefits from a strong supporting cast, including Stephen Hanthorn as Jimmy and John Fletcher as the mobster Carleoni, who bring a sense of fun and pride to their roles. Critical Consensus Paula Peril and the Hidden City (Short 2017) - IMDb
Paula Peril had a nose for trouble, but this time, trouble had a welcome mat.
It started with a postcard. No stamp, no return address, just a faded picture of a skyline she didn’t recognize—gleaming towers with impossible spirals, bridges strung like harp strings between cliffs, and beneath it all, one line in looping green ink: You left the door open.
Paula turned the card over. Blank. She flipped it back. The city seemed to shimmer, as if the ink were still wet, still dreaming. She’d seen a lot in her years as an investigative journalist—corrupt mayors, cults that worshipped vending machines, a surprisingly well-organized squirrel uprising—but this? This was new.
She traced her finger over the words. “You left the door open.” A phrase she hadn’t heard since she was seven years old, standing in the dusty attic of her grandmother’s house, staring at a wardrobe that didn’t quite touch the floor. Her grandmother had whispered it then, smiling. You left the door open, Paula. And something wonderful came through.
Paula hadn’t thought about that day in decades. But now, as she sat in her cramped apartment with rain streaking the window and the smell of old coffee in the air, she felt a tug behind her ribs—like a hook caught in something soft, reeling her in.
She did what any sensible reporter would do: she followed the mystery.
The postcard’s image matched no known city. She ran it through every database, every travel blog, every dusty atlas in the library basement. Nothing. But when she held it under ultraviolet light, hidden text appeared: Find the forgotten turnstile. Pay with a memory you no longer need.
Easy. Sure. Paula had plenty of those.
The forgotten turnstile turned out to be a rusted subway gate in the abandoned Grand Arcology Station, sealed after the Great Collapse of ’42. Paula slipped through a broken fence, past sleeping pigeons and the ghost smell of burned sugar, and there it was—a single turnstile, polished brass in a sea of decay. No wires. No power. Just a slot marked INSERT MEMORY. Paula Peril and the Hidden City is a
Paula hesitated. Then she thought of her ex-husband’s laugh. The way he’d crinkle his eyes when he lied. She pulled that memory out—she didn’t know how, only that it came willingly, like a loose tooth—and fed it into the slot.
The turnstile clicked. And the world turned inside out.
One moment she was in a dusty station. The next, she stood on a cobblestone street beneath impossible towers that curled toward a sky the color of a bruise. The air smelled of jasmine and ozone. The city from the postcard. The hidden city.
It was alive with whispers. People walked past her in clothes that seemed stitched from twilight and old photographs. A vendor sold bottled echoes. A child skipped rope with a string of forgotten names. Paula felt her heart race—not from fear, but from the thrill of discovery. This was her element. The story no one else had found.
She walked for hours, taking notes in a language she didn’t know but somehow understood. She learned that the hidden city was made of everything the world had lost: discarded dreams, burned books, the endings of songs no one could quite remember. And at its center stood the Archive—a library of all the doors ever left open.
That’s where she found her grandmother.
Not her ghost. Not a memory. Her. Sitting in a rocking chair, knitting a scarf that never ended, gray hair pinned up with a pen that had run out of ink twenty years ago.
“Took you long enough,” her grandmother said without looking up. “I left the door open for you when you were seven. Knew you’d find your way back eventually.”
Paula’s throat tightened. “You’ve been here? All this time?”
“All this time and no time at all.” Her grandmother set down her knitting. “This city is for the curious, Paula. The ones who never stop asking questions. The ones who pay with their smallest memories and find they’ve gained a universe.”
Paula wanted to ask a hundred things—how, why, can I stay—but instead she just sat down on the floor, leaning against her grandmother’s chair, and listened to the hidden city hum.
She did go back, eventually. The turnstile let her return, though it took another memory—the name of her first grade teacher, which she found she didn’t miss. And then another, and another, every time she visited. She learned to give away the heavy things, the aching things, until all that was left were the moments worth keeping.
Her articles changed after that. She wrote about the hidden city in code, slipping clues into the crossword section, embedding maps in the weather forecast. Only the right readers would find them. Only the ones who had left a door open somewhere, sometime, without knowing it.
And one day, a new postcard arrived at her apartment. Different skyline. Different ink. But the same handwriting.
It read: We saved you a seat.
Paula smiled. Packed a bag. And left her own door open, just a crack, for the next curious soul to find.
Paula Peril and the Hidden City (2017) is an independent short film that serves as a sequel to The Serpent Cult
. Starring Valerie Perez as investigative reporter Paula "Peril" Perillo, the story follows her as she uncovers a brutal war between the Mob and a resurgent Serpent Cult. The investigation reveals deep secrets about the city's past and an ancient evil growing in power beneath the streets. Paula Peril Movie Plot and Character Details
Paula is caught in the crossfire of a war for control over an ancient hidden temple and its portal, discovered ten years prior by a man named Carleoni.
The film features Valerie Perez, Stephen Hanthorn as photographer Jimmy Smith, and Olivia Adams as Veronica Vilancourt. Production:
Directed by Jason Winn, this installment is noted for its higher production quality compared to earlier entries, featuring original music and improved camerawork. Sequels & Adaptations:
The story continues in the 100-page graphic novel adaptation, The Secret Temple , which is a direct sequel to both The Serpent Cult The Hidden City For more details, you can view the official trailer on YouTube or visit the official Paula Peril website to download the film. Comic Series Film Origins Recent Projects Graphic Novels and Comics Paula Peril Adventures site
lists over a decade of comic history, including large anthologies and standalone stories like 'The Haunted Hotel' and 'Prison Break Payback.'
The character was originally created by James Watson and published through Atlantis Studios
, drawing inspiration from classic 1940s pulp detectives and cliffhanger serials. Live-Action Background Reviews on
describe the series as a low-budget 'B movie' homage that blends elements of Lois Lane and Lara Croft. The series is also cataloged on Rotten Tomatoes
, where critics note the varied tone across different episodes due to multiple directors. Animation and New Releases The series recently expanded into animation with a Kickstarter campaign
for 'Jewel of the Undead,' which reached its funding goal in late 2024.
Updates on the project's progress and late pledge options are available on the Official Facebook page plot summary of the film, or would you like more information on the comic book adaptations Paula Peril and the Hidden City (Short 2017) - IMDb
The plot of The Hidden City follows Paula and her allies—often including the police detective partner, Lieutenant Friel, or her romantic interest/rival, Steven James—as they uncover a legend of a lost civilization. Unlike the urban noir settings of many Paula Peril stories, this arc shifts the backdrop to a remote, trap-laden locale. The plot of The Hidden City follows Paula
The story moves at a breakneck pace. It is structured around the classic "cliffhanger" formula. Just when the protagonist seems safe, a trap triggers, a henchman appears, or the environment collapses. The narrative strength lies in its simplicity; it doesn't try to deconstruct the genre but rather celebrates it. The stakes are raised quickly, moving from a simple news tip to a race against time to stop an antagonist (often a rival treasure hunter or a shadowy organization) from harnessing the power of the Hidden City.
Paula Peril: Hidden City distinguishes itself from standard hidden object games (HOGs) through its sophisticated design. The game is divided into three core mechanics: