Hellbender

Some indie horror films feel like they were manufactured on the assembly line, built to grab festival programmers’ attention and catch the next A24 wave. Hellbender isn’t one of those. It’s too raw, too handmade, too weirdly personal. Shot in upstate New York by the Adams family (yes, literally—mom, dad, and daughter, who wrote, directed, and star), the movie blurs the line between scrappy DIY cinema and blood-soaked folk horror.

On the surface, it’s a coming-of-age story: a teenage girl raised in isolation with her mother discovers she’s part of a long line of witches who feed on flesh and fear. Izzy, the home-schooled hellspawn, is played with beautiful restraint by Zelda Adams (whose talent seems destined for bigger projects) while Toby Poser plays her overprotective mom.  But who exactly is she keeping safe: Izzy or herself?

Where some films would pour on an overcooked mythology or FX-heavy histrionics, Hellbender leans into its limitations. It makes the woods creepy again, turns jam sessions into occult rituals, and keeps the horror intimate…not to mention laying down one of the best soundtracks this side of Scott Pilgrim.  Sure, you could nitpick the acting or the pacing.  And the whole backwoods set up feels like what might happen if Courtney Love became a homesteader.  But the rough edges make it convincing. Traditional horror fans may cringe away, but there’s a maturity in the film that’s less about jump scares and more about mood, inheritance, and the way rebellion can manufacture a deadly appetite for destruction.

Arrow’s limited-edition Blu-ray gives the image a big bump over its streaming debut on Shudder.  Extras include a family reunion commentary, new video essay, visual FX featurette (the film uses them sparsely but effectively), behind-the-scene footage, music videos, a short film by Zela Adams, trailer and collector’s booklet.

 

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