Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: HELLBENDER [Fantastic Fest 2021 - Virtual]
The Adams family (John, his wife Toby Poser and daughters Lulu and Zelda) have done something really unusual in making films that capture a certain necessity of stories that they want (and wish) to tell. "Hellbender" is their 6th feature film and balances a vein of the dark macabre with a sense of inevitability. It is a tricky balance but once that seems to blend with the Adams nomadic style of filmmaking. Zelda, as Izzy, the lead in this film, is the right age of being aware but also understanding of the story to be told. That said, she commands the screen without overwhelming it and Toby Poser, who is her mother in real life, is able to bring a sense of tenderness and protection as her mother in the film while not taking away the danger. The story revolves a tale of witchcraft in a sense though the art and how it is passed down is kept on the periphery. But the mediation of the story becomes one of power vs. control. Shot of course during the pandemic, the insular nature of the film works in this way. Izzy, as a character, speaks of an immuno-disease she believes she has, but her isolation and not being part of the world she longs to explore, both condemns and stifles her while nevertheless protecting her.
John Adams as the director is able to take interior lives (and almost a sense of remote viewing) with mother and daughter and injects certain parts of the movie with an inherent dread through this imagery. There is also a balance with the music and songs which is actually Hellbender (the band -- consisting of Toby and Zelda). The style creates an interesting undercurrent of punk while still being about isolationists inherently lost in the woods. Many of the family members takes on different duties with filming. Lulu, the otehr daughter, plays a newfound friend at a nearby pool. The drone shots are also according to the credits done by Zelda as is much of the cinematography. The inherent aspect becomes that, even though they are making the film with a skeleton crew, the film does have a steady hand and a crispness while still tackling some interesting metaphysical ideas, especially in the last act. The SFX is kept to a minimum but in keeping with the best horror traditions especially on a budget, it is used inherently when most effective: to push the story and not necessarily for scare tactics. "Hellbender" is a tale of caution while also an ode to the nature of identity vs the primal. B
By Tim Wassberg
