- Starring
- Zelda Adams, Toby Poser, Lulu Adams, John Adams
- Writers
- John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser
- Directors
- John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 83 minutes
- Release Date
- February 24th, 2022 (Shudder)
Overall Score
Rating Summary
Hellbender is yet another DIY low budget horror film from the Adams family, John Adams and Toby Poser and their daughters Zelda and Lulu, that saw them both co-write and co-direct as well as star. Now their sixth feature film, the trio began producing lo-fi rock under the band name H6LLB6ND6R and this new film was inspired by their music project.
As a film, Hellbender falls into the coming-of-age subgenre. Along with its horror themes, it also explores themes of family alongside a compelling mother-daughter dynamic. The story features a mother (Poser) with mysterious witch-like powers and her teen daughter Izzy (Zelda Adams) who lived a simple life together in the woods. Keeping her close, Izzy was yet to experience the outside world and remained within her home all her life as a result of her mother telling her she is immunocompromised. After Izzy befriends a local teen named Amber (Lulu Adams), over the course of the film, she uncovers a connection between her family and witchcraft. Learning about her mother’s powers, Izzy discovers that she and her mom are hellbenders. Hellbenders are a lineage of women with supernatural powers who reproduce asexually while the blood of the living is the source of their power.
An interesting plot on paper, the film subverts horror expectations by taking a unique approach. Hellbender achieves things that viewers are likely to not expect from an indie, limited budget film. While the effects of a limited budget can be evident at times, the film features well done psychedelic sequences and special effects. Decent-looking underground lairs, pirates and flying witches were also pretty unexpected and cool to see.
This filmmaking family keeps getting better and better and their performances are legitimately great here. Shot in the Catskill Mountains, the film boasts some clever cinematography as the rugged landscape provides the perfect setting for a folk horror rooted in horror history. With many of the actors being an actual family in real life, the relationship between Izzy and her mother felt real and grounded. Meanwhile, H6LLB6ND6R is a part of the script as the mother-daughter metal rock band. The band is also responsible for the film’s soundtrack. Sometimes like a documentary of sorts, the film feels uncomfortably real. In the end, it’s easy to see that there was a lot of effort put into this film.
Hellbender is a pretty short film, clocking in at just over 80 minutes which makes it a good quick watch where viewers are sure to find something to love and is definitely one of the better Shudder original films in recent memory.
*still courtesy of AMC Networks*
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