Hellbender Review (Film, 2022)
content warning: blood, gore, violence against women, foul language, animal death
Hellbender is a horror film about witchcraft with an eerie and beautiful indie aesthetic. Izzy lives with her mother on a large stretch of private property right on the edge of the woods. Izzy is not allowed to go to town, but she doesn’t need to since her mother provides for everything. Then Izzy learns that she has a neighbor around her age on the next mountain over.
The aesthetic of Hellbender is sensational. There’s no doubting the connection between the natural world and witchcraft in the narrative. The forest overwhelms the screen, playing on that awe-inspiring, sublime imagery that the Naturalists painted massive canvases of. When Izzy is alone, the forest fills the screen, protecting her from anything that could possible go wrong. When her mother is alone, she dominates the landscapes around her. The world can bend to her whims through the use of nature and she does what she has to in order to protect that power.
Everything about the style of the film is pushed to this kind of extreme. The film opens with quite the warning shot about how violent this world can be. A witch is going to be executed. The ground is covered in blood and gore, leading to a woman bound in the woods. She is going to be hanged by her peers, the other women and girls who know her. It’s a brutal scene that establishes how high the stakes are.
Everything, from spells to hiking to hunting, is pushed to those extremes in some way. It could be the beauty of the world, or silence, or emotion. Nothing is truly calm when everything can be the key to unknown powers.
The story of Hellbender is a great coming of age horror narrative. Izzy is learning to take chances and find her own space in the world. Her mother is trying to protect her, knowing what can happen if she follows in her footsteps. Izzy needs to learn on her own to truly understand what the world is like. This is the kind of experience-driven horror that adds so much dimension to films like Ginger Snaps, May, Teeth, and even Raw.
Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of Hellbender is its perspective. Izzy and her mother actually have a positive, healthy relationship. Her mother is a bit overly protective, but Izzy understands. Even as their relationship changes over the course of the film, their bond is strong, positive, and caring. Izzy’s mother doesn’t fear losing her; she fears failing her.
John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser, aka The Adams Family, are the team behind almost everything in Hellbender. The three actually are a family in real life. Zelda is John and Toby’s daughter. They are the writers, directors, principal cast, editors, cinematographers, costume designers, composers, and producers of the film. There is a confidence in this approach that allows the trio to stick to their vision for the film. A horror film as unique as Hellbender requires a strong level of collaboration and commitment to feel honest. Hellbender feels real.
Hellbender is a modern witchcraft film using the realization of power to explore issues of identity and family. It’s a brutal and beautiful look into growing up. Hellbender is also terrifying. The beauty of the film is its greatest trick of all. Horror films that look as lovely as this don’t often pack this kind of punch. You can’t say they didn’t warn you from the start.
Hellbender is streaming on Shudder.
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