'Hellbender' is a horror film that follows Izzy and her mother, the two of which live a life of seclusion in a mountainous region of the United States. Izzy goes on a journey of discovery as she uncovers her mother’s secrets and her family’s ties to witchcraft.
‘Hellbender’ sets out by showing Izzy and her mother in a two-man rock band, enjoying each others company and happily creating something together. It is revealed however that Izzy lives a life of isolation as her mother has told her she is sick, preventing Izzy from going into the nearby town or meeting any other person. Over time, Izzy hikes the surrounding forest and crosses paths with Amber, her peer and the two become friends, much to her mothers dismay, revealing to Izzy that she is not sick, but had sequestered Izzy as she is dangerous.
On further revelation, Izzy uncovers that she has magical powers, and together with her mother, the two share in exploring Izzy’s potential and her abilities. Later on, Izzy comes across a mysterious book that shows her visions of the past and the future, seemingly angering her and forcing her to confront her mother regarding their true nature, as they derive their power by consuming living things. Over time, Izzy becomes more ruthless in exploring her abilities, frightening her mother and ultimately driving the two to confront each other. Mother reveals that her mother was evil, taking the lives of many innocents, and confessing that she wanted to raise Izzy to be good. Rejecting this, Izzy claims the upper hand, embraces her true nature and effectively deposes her mother as the more powerful being.
‘Hellbender’ is a horror movie that explores witchcraft and magic, a subject that has spawned its own sub-genre in horror and comprises a vast library of numerous iterations of good, bad and neutral witches. Where ‘Hellbender’ succeeds is in exploring the struggle within, as mother tries to raise her offspring to be good, to not cause harm to others and to live in harmony with nature. The film sets out by strongly implying that the focus will be on the ‘evil mother’, having hidden away her child and seemingly hiding Izzy from her true nature. However, the film soon dismisses the already tired trope and focuses on depicting the relationship between mother and Izzy, as mother slowly introduced Izzy to what she is capable of, the history of what kind of beings they are and what mother wants the two of them to be going forward.
As Izzy grows stronger however, mother realises her powers are waning, indicating that Izzy is to have the upper hand in their relationship, shifting the power dynamic to mother having to be subordinate to Izzy. Fearful of this, the two have a confrontation in the third act, horrifying the audience as mother reveals their true nature, telling of how her mother used her powers and realising that Izzy is embracing that same path.
By providing in-depth character studies of both Izzy and mother, ‘Hellbender’ enthrals the audience by giving an insight into the young witch discovering a whole new world and her mother in trying to shape the young mind. What makes ‘Hellbender’ a true horror is the unrelenting idea of the nature of the hellbenders winning over mother’s intentions, with her unable to lead Izzy on a path of doing good and having to watch from afar as Izzy embraces her dark side.
‘Hellbender’ is a relatively small film, produced on a shoestring budget, yet manages to create a boundless feeling both in terms of the visual spectacle that is encapsulated by the numerous shots of the surrounding forest and mountain region and in terms of the lore that we are given a taste of as our main characters go over spells and discuss their history. The film also surprises in terms of delivering visually astounding scenes, as either Izzy or mother approach the mysterious book to peer into the future, with disorienting visions flashing before us and the witches, both scaring and enticing us to want to see more and to seek the meaning behind the psychedelic visions.
Mother and Izzy are portrayed by Toby Poser and Zelda Adams respectively, real life mother and daughter duo, that together with John Adams, real-life partner to Poser and father to Zelda Adams have written and directed the feature. A real team effort, the trio have delivered a truly unique project that explores the darker side of magic and a being that tries to create a different path forward to what has come before her. Through examining and dissecting the relationship between Izzy and mother, ‘Hellbender’ achieves a unique perspective of illustrating a presumably evil being trying to do better, who is ultimately thwarted by her own kin as the access to great power corrupts the young mind and allows Izzy to disregard any good intentions her mother may have had. Seemingly effortlessly, Poser and Adams deliver a true depiction of a mother-daughter relationship, skewing from the compassionate and understanding to the uneasy and hateful.
‘Hellbender’ is a true gem in terms of story as it explores the power dynamic of two magical creatures as the two try to live together and cope with the abilities they have. By viewing the magical and mystical through a mother-daughter lens, the film delivers a greatly emotional and intriguing story, traversing the love and hate that crops up between the two witches. With a limited budget, the film still manages to remain memorable as the haunting visions the witches have echo long after the end of the film.
Score: 4/4
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