B E R T’s review published on Letterboxd:
Sooooooo cool. I love these indie horror flicks that are so hipster they hurt. Shudder originals are like A24 but less pretentious and appeal more to classic fans of the genre and not film school types, overall, they’re a very exciting studio who seems to get better and better with each new release they put out.
Hellbender is great, it’s part coming-of-age, part mystery, part witchcraft tale, so many elements combine to make a very interesting and satisfying watch. The 2 lead actresses, who also both wrote and directed, have excellent chemistry together and felt so believable and natural. I liked that we got to follow both of them at different times of the story, quite clever direction and writing I thought. The cinematography is worth mentioning too, washed out and dreary, cold and miserable, with some beautiful aerial shots of the area it was filmed.
It’s 82 minutes long too so extra points for being both a slow burn burn and being fast paced at the same time. No wasted moments or filler here. If you love ‘The Lords of Salem’ then perhaps give this a try too.
Adding to the OH MY GOTH list.
