“Spring eats Winter. Winter eats Fall. Fall eats Summer. Summer eats Spring.” This is the prayer Mother (Tobey Poser) and daughter Izzy (Zelda Adams) offer at the table at every meal, usually consisting of pinecones, berries, and moss presented with delicate, artistic plating. The pair live alone in the woods, where Izzy is isolated amidst the wilderness because of a supposed autoimmune disease that prevents her from safely getting close to anyone. They play in their own band, the eponymous H6LLB6ND6R, and Izzy’s mother ventures into town from time to time to get drumsticks, CDs, and art supplies for Izzy. There are, however, much greater forces at play, as a chance encounter with some local students and a bet involving drinking a live worm in a shot of tequila reveals the truth about Izzy’s lineage: she, like her mother, is a witch.
They call themselves Hellbenders, powerful beings that thrive off of the fear living beings have of death – by consuming them. Thus, the truth behind Lizzy’s vegetarian diet is revealed as well: a precautionary measure meant to contain her unearthly powers. One of the most striking things about Hellbender is its approach to magic, especially as it takes the new feminist narrative of witchcraft as a core component of female lineage and transforms that notion into something wholly unique and equally horrifying. Spells and their components are derived from the natural environment, often with a more poetic than scientific significance: mixing huckleberries and tears allows one to enhance their eyesight while crushing ferns, fungus, and blood allows one to smell blood on the wind. Magic is in tune with nature, derived from elements of survivalist knowledge, homeopathy, and naturalism. This attunement to nature is no coincidence, either, as the idea of one’s inner nature as predestination becomes a major theme of the film. Of course, with the film set within the lush, vibrant Catskills Mountains, it’s no surprise. Magic is a living thing and empowers one to rise above the natural pecking order, or perhaps allows one to take their place as the apex predator. As Izzy’s mother puts it, a Hellbender’s nature is dark, but it can be starved. Thus, the Hellbenders deem themselves predators who must voluntarily starve to resist the allure of power. Placed in an environment becomes its own character, alive with stark contrast to the brewing darkness within a power-hungry Izzy.
Another aspect of Hellbender that is impossible to divorce from its magic is the spellbinding visual effects handled by Lindsay Trey. They are often reminiscent of the drive-in horror era in the best way: surreal, horrific, and campy all at once. At the film’s emotional highest and lowest, Izzy and her mother exist in floating voids of black and white. When one of them casts a spell to watch the other, an overlay of an iris vignettes the frame, visualizing an outside perspective on the quiet moments where you could swear you’re being watched. Keys sprout from the back of hands; blood pours from mouths and enchanted twigs with a dark, syrupy allure; visions of past and future play out in demented color like decaying film. Each moment of eerie mysticism is completely entrancing, especially as the film leans into its classic, low-budget horror roots. Hellbender’s magic feels real, both in a material and visual sense. Each act of magic has a cost, be it components or morals, and the performance of magic is one in accordance with the rite performed. To use a Seeing Circle, one must cover one real eye to open the magical one. The little details add up, like the dinner-table prayer and a reference to being “self-reproducing” that Izzy’s mother makes when discussing ferns, leaving nothing forgotten and no loose ends dangling. The film as a whole feels like one of the mother-daughter pair’s many songs, which provide Hellbender with its boisterous, alt-rock soundtrack: bold and fresh and loud, yet meticulously crafted by a singular vision.
On the topic of singular vision, it is worth noting the team behind Hellbender as well; Adams Family Films, a family of four who wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the film. They fill all cast and crew positions outside of Lindsay Trey’s CGI work and a handful of extras. Each member of the family appears as an actor in the film, with Izzy and her mother portrayed by two of the Adams, and her sister plays Izzy’s ‘popular girl’ friend Amber (Lulu Adams). The scale of the film shows what a feat it achieves as a masterful work of horror that will hopefully find its place among modern cult classics like Ginger Snaps or Jennifer’s Body. Hellbender is truly a family affair, which speaks plainly to the power of its creative team. Tobey Poser and Zelda Adams deliver stellar performances, with Zelda being the obvious stand out as the film’s protagonist and eventual instigator of its horror. Even the music of H6LLB6ND6R is the music of the Adams Family’s band of the same name.
Ultimately, this degree of closeness is Hellbender’s greatest strength, as it communicates the complexities of family dynamics in a way that feels fresh compared to the usual heightened drama of family-involved horror. There is no sudden polarization when Izzy learns the true reason for her isolation and vegetarianism. Her mother is honest and open with her, often joking with Izzy about what it means to be a Hellbender. She guides Izzy, and rather than try to control her in an authoritative sense, is open with Izzy about her own fears, especially when it comes to discussions of Izzy’s deceased grandmother, a destructive and malevolent force in her time. On the other hand, Izzy’s exploration of her powers, combined with teenage rebelliousness, drives her to the darker side of being a Hellbender. One could argue it is a reaction to her mother’s restrictive parenting, but it could equally be her unavoidable nature as a Hellbender, something made even more complex by the film’s final twist of the knife. Perhaps it is echoic of the rise in climate disasters amidst a rapidly changing climate, or perhaps it is simply a parable on Nature’s wrath. Hellbender remains enchanting and frightening either way, overcoming the limitations of its microbudget scale to cement itself as the next cult-classic-to-be, like a Hellbender about to take her first taste of living flesh.
