During the pandemic a lot of us took up new hobbies. My wife opened her own business. I started The Midnight Selections.

For the family of John Adams and Toby Poser, the pandemic presented an opportunity to make a low-budget folk-horror film after taking inspiration from their H6llb6nd6r musical project. (Prior to Hellbender, the husband and wife dual have written, directed and starred in five previous features under the name Adams Family Films, often including their daughters in the production process.) 

Then, to the surprise of many, 2022 ended with Hellbender listed as the highest rated horror of the year on Rotten Tomatoes. Take that Barbarian.

Now before getting into a debate on what a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes actually means, I will also point out that Hellbender is a slow-burn that is definitely intended to appeal to the arthouse horror crowd. As I write this review, its IMDb rating sits at 5.8, but what that means- especially in 2022- is also disputable. Still, when critics and the public don’t see eye-to-eye, you know the divisiveness is going to seep from the user reviews. 

Interestingly enough, the biggest viewer complaint of Hellbender have little to do with the common, predictable complaints about female empowerment, instead focussing on the limitations caused by the 1.3 million budget; although defenders will point out that the film’s cinematography and special effects have a look that seems well beyond its budget restraints. As a consistent champion of the inclusivity in the horror genre and a fan of low-budget horror done right, there should be no question where I stand on this debate. (A friend of mine watched the trailer after I told him about the budget and he was also impressed by the production value.) 

Hellbender begins with a hanging orchestrated by a coven of hellbenders (which share a lot of similarities to witches) against one of their own. I won’t go more into this, except to say the last image is pure rock n’ roll.

That last shot is a good example of how well the family made use of the 1.3 million.

Speaking of rock n’ roll, we then cut to the mother (Toby Poser) and daughter (Zelda Adams) practicing a fun goth rock number with lyrics that have a surprising amount of significance to the rest of the film. 

At this point, I’d really like to compliment the film’s excellent original soundtrack. All things considering, the songs are pretty awesome and work really well within the film. The line “I am a hit and run” was an earworm of mine the whole day after watching the film. My god, the Adams seem to have a good time as a family.

But if you’re looking for a film that proves homeschooled teenagers aren’t weird, Hellbender is definitely not it. Izzy and her mother live in isolation on a massive mountain property. In fact, Izzy has been told she has an auto-immune disease and never leaves the property fearing that contact with other people could kill her. 

Things change when a hiker (Jack Adams) accidentally wanders onto the property. Though their interaction is brief, it is enough to give Izzy cause to wonder about the world beyond her property line.

This sets up the classic overprotective mother against a daughter coming of age conflict. But since both mother and daughter are hellbenders, there are additional complications that could threaten the lives of those living in the nearby town. 

(Daughter Lulu Adams also has a significant role in the film playing one of the young people in that town.)

There is an intimacy about Hellbender that is hard to replicate and a lot of this comes from it being such a family affair. The film only has a handful of characters, so Poser and Adams need to do most of the heavy lifting. The film’s bond between mother and daughter is interesting because it is not presented in a simple cliche manner. Izzy may play the part of the rebellious daughter, but the love for her mother continues in every scene, even when she starts to keep secrets from her. And Poser’s mother’s naivety towards her daughter’s behaviour is a forced ignorance

As the parent of a teenage boy and friend to others with teenagers, I find Izzy’s mother an easy character to empathize with. Hellbender’s greatest strength is that it explores a realities, and occasional hypocrisies, in modern parenting. We all want to let our children make their own way in the world, but we also remember (maybe even still have) our own vices and bad behaviours. Yet we are determined not to let our kids act out in the same ways we did. In the film, Izzy’s mother relies on having an open dialogue- almost a friendship- with her daughter, but their communication gets strained once her daughter acts independently and breaches her trust. Izzy’s mother also firmly believes that she parents better than her own mother, but as things begin to break down with Izzy the reality becomes more complicated. For the parents of teenagers, this is all very relatable stuff.  No wonder this is one of my favourite horrors of 2022. I’m guessing most of the haters don’t have kids of their own.

Which brings me to some of the other common criticisms put towards Hellbender. Some people claim the film meanders pointlessly from scene to scene while others criticize the abruptness of the ending. For them, I say give the film a second watch. There is a deliberate purpose to every shot, particularly in those scenes where Izzy or her mother are alone doing witchy things. It is just easier to understand and appreciate this fact during a second viewing. In fact, the narrative is actually quite tight. The parent in me would also argue that the unconventional ending is earned and, in its own way, brilliant. I mean, what more did we need to see? And it’s an ending I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Hellbender continues to prove that great ideas are more important than large budgets when making a horror film. This is one of the most well-written coming of age horrors since Let the Right One In.

Give credit to the streaming service Shudder for continuing to act as a platform where many low-budget horrors, like Hellbender, have a place to be seen. 

As for the members of the Adams family, I say keep making me jealous that I’m not in your family.

I got to go do something cool with my son now.