Definition
English idiom – “all hell breaks loose” 🔥
If all hell breaks loose, then a situation becomes chaotic, violent or out of control.
For example – When the fire alarm went off, all hell broke loose in the building.
Clip 1
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 -(2011)
Harry, Ron, and Hermione are planning their next move after escaping Gringotts. Harry insists they must go to Hogwarts immediately to find and destroy another Horcrux. When Hermione hesitates, Harry points out that their plans never go as intended, saying:
“We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose!”
Harry uses the idiom to highlight how their missions always lead to unpredictable and chaotic situations, no matter how well they plan. It reflects his sense of urgency and acceptance that action, even messy and chaotic, is better than overthinking.
Clip 2
The Iron Claw – (2023)
During the intense 6 vs. 6 tag team wrestling match between the Von Erich’s and the Fabulous Freebirds , the commentator exclaims, “All hell has broken loose!”:
In this scene, the commentator uses the idiom to convey the chaos as wrestlers from both teams engage simultaneously, leading to chaotic and violent action in the ring.
Clip 3
The Overnight – (2022)
In this Horror movie, two villains are trying to sacrifice innocent people to a demon. When one of the villains discovers they are accidentally sacrificing an extra person, he is concerned this will make the demon too powerful which is why he says “Now we’ve got to work fast before all hell breaks loose,” to refer the potential danger and chaos the demon could bring.
Clip 4
Dirty Money – Season 2, Episode 3 (2020)
Uta Winkler is being interviewed following her experience of living in an apartment owned by Kushner Companies. This business was notorious for not taking proper care of their buildings and so many tenants faced issues. Winkler describes seeing her kitchen being flooded and uses “all hell breaks loose” to describe how chaotic and out of control the flooding was.