Written and directed by Toby Poser, John Adams, and Zelda Adams
Starring Zelda Adams, Toby Poser, and Lulu Adams
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour and 22 minutes
Available on Shudder starting February 24th

by Emily Maesar, Staff Writer

It’s easy to understand why Hellbender is getting so much praise from the horror community since it premiered. It’s fucking rules. It's a story about the horror of both motherhood and daughterhood. It’s about becoming afraid of what you’ve created and coming into your family legacy, through the lens of a small, very insular family unit.

It stars Toby Poser and Zelda Adams as mother and daughter who live out in the middle of the woods. They have a metal band, but only play for themselves. They’re good enough to tour, if they wanted, but Izzy (Adams) is sick and cannot be around people. So, she stays home, while her mom picks up stuff from town, and dreams of making friends.

Which she does, eventually. After a man wanders onto their property while Izzy is outside, it is revealed that her mother is a witch. At least, to the audience. It becomes clear that Izzy doesn’t know anything about the family secret. Without the knowledge, and imbued with teenage rebellion, Izzy decides to go find the man’s niece (since he’d mentioned her during their encounter). And find her, she does… before things go completely upside down.

And perhaps one of the most absolutely killer things about Hellbender is the music. Izzy and her mother have their own band of two - and every cut to them playing rules. From costumes to the actual music. It feels like, especially in comparison to how her mother hides Izzy’s power, that them playing music together is an extension of their power, even when Izzy doesn’t have hers unlocked yet. They name their band H6LLB6ND6R, after all. And that’s what they are: Hellbenders.

And I think that becomes clear when songs soundtrack scenes of the film when Hellbender isn't playing. The music acts as a sort of pulse of power throughout the film, cutting in at important moments throughout Izzy’s ascendency. All of which is to say, I can only hope they’ll put out a soundtrack of all the music, because I’d blast it on repeat!

My only real complaint about the film is that in search for a short runtime, the film is less than 90 minutes, we actually miss out on a lot of connection between mother and daughter after the powers come into play. It’s there for a bit, and it works when it’s being explored, but Izzy goes off on her own journey which leaves her mother scrambling. And I think that works, generally, but we spend of much more time with Izzy throughout the rest of the film, that the decision to only care about the mother’s journey toward the end feels more like a cop out, than a choice based in character and what feels right for the trajectory of the story. Izzy has become too unknowable with power, so we must not even attempt to know her. Or, at least, that’s the vibe.

All in all, Hellbender is a fun ride. The acting is supremely good, the writing is fun and pretty interesting, and the ending absolutely solidifies it as a knockout. If you like a good witchy horror story with a strong, and deeply interesting, mother/daughter relationship, then this one’s for you!