"Hellbent" is a more than entertaining slasher with a new twist to the story.
**SPOILERS**
Out on Halloween night, Eddie Fitzgerald, (Dylan Fergus) warns his friends Toby Weatherton, (Matt Phillips) Joey, (Hank Harris) and Chaz, (Andrew Levitas) that a serial killer may be on the loose that is targeting homosexual men. Preparing for a night out at a party, they don't think much of the story as it will interfere with their partying at the big club later that night. Meeting up with Jake, (Bryan Kirkwood) at the club, they all indulge in their darkest fantasies and have a little fun in the process, which is welcomed by all in attendance. While they're out enjoying themselves, the killer starts to target them as well, putting them all at a dangerous position when they try to get away from his reign of terror.
The Good News: This one here is actually not that bad when it really came down to it. The movie has all the boys, booze and bacchanalia one could want, instead of the usual T&A of the standard slasher flicks. The difference in this case is that the horny couple are both male. In a pitch-perfect homage to old school horror, the film opens on a hot and bothered stereotypical horny couple making out in their car in the park at night in a secluded spot. As the young men grapple and pant, we're shown a shadowy figure skulking ever closer. The figure emerges in the moonlight, showing us a glint of scythe, a Mephisto-style devil mask before he strikes a fatal, tryst-ending blow, decapitating them both and takes the heads as trophies. These types of scenes play off the style and tone really well, making it appear to fit in with the genre while also keeping up its difference point all the better. When it decides to go for the horror aspects, though, the results are just spectacular. In one standout moment, a couple of club-goers find a headless body slumped in a toilet cubicle, covered in blood, initially thinking it's an elaborate Halloween joke until the body twitches which sends them all into hysterics is quite inventive. Another fantastic scene has the killer off a victim on a crowded dance floor, stabbing them in the gut with a sickle before decapitating him as the strobe-lights work overtime overhead. That works extremely well in the context of a slasher flick set around the theatrics and artifice of a Halloween night carnival. It also helps that the scene comes off like a real set-piece rather than just shoe-horned in, and is pulled off spectacularly. Easily the best, though, is when one character is outlandishly saved by his glass eye stopping the killer's sickle piercing his brain. The sight of the blade touching the eye with the metallic clink plainly heard, the suspense set up to ensure a great site, and tense moment leading up to it are played off perfectly and make it a superb scene in every sense. In fact, the slashing and stalking are purely stand-out in every way, and are there to ensure that it gets enough points about it to make for an entertaining film. The unnamed and ostensibly motiveless murderer is appropriately dark, shadowy, merciless and perfunctory in his killing. There's also some memorable kills, mainly through the use of decapitations resulting in many nice splatter moments. Mixed together with a stupendous pace and some wonderful humor, this one manages to be really entertaining.
The Bad News: This one here has a couple of flaws, though they aren't big and important. One is that the kills aren't all that graphic even though they are decapitations. It really should've used another style of death to help make an even bigger impression, but none of the kills are really as bloody as they could've been. The other problem with this is that there's nothing groundbreaking in the depiction of gay men behind closed doors or even out reveling in the wildness that is the West Hollywood Halloween Festival. That might have made this film a bit more interesting, instead of having it be just a different take on the tired old slasher clichés. Sure, we see some of the guys kissing but that's as far as anything sexual goes. If the film really wanted truly different, we would have seen more of what one sees in the typical slasher movie, the T&A and simulated sex, only in this film, it would have been male genitalia and ass with the simulated sex. This has plenty of opportunities to do so, and while those may not be for some out there based on it's very nature of it's themes, but these parts here are what really hold this one down.
The Final Verdict: An absolutely enjoyable homosexual slasher, with enough about it to be enjoyed by those who enjoy that style of film while also making it easy for heterosexual ones to get something out of it as well. Recommended to both styles, while those who can't get past the themes and issues should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and strong sexual themes
**SPOILERS**
Out on Halloween night, Eddie Fitzgerald, (Dylan Fergus) warns his friends Toby Weatherton, (Matt Phillips) Joey, (Hank Harris) and Chaz, (Andrew Levitas) that a serial killer may be on the loose that is targeting homosexual men. Preparing for a night out at a party, they don't think much of the story as it will interfere with their partying at the big club later that night. Meeting up with Jake, (Bryan Kirkwood) at the club, they all indulge in their darkest fantasies and have a little fun in the process, which is welcomed by all in attendance. While they're out enjoying themselves, the killer starts to target them as well, putting them all at a dangerous position when they try to get away from his reign of terror.
The Good News: This one here is actually not that bad when it really came down to it. The movie has all the boys, booze and bacchanalia one could want, instead of the usual T&A of the standard slasher flicks. The difference in this case is that the horny couple are both male. In a pitch-perfect homage to old school horror, the film opens on a hot and bothered stereotypical horny couple making out in their car in the park at night in a secluded spot. As the young men grapple and pant, we're shown a shadowy figure skulking ever closer. The figure emerges in the moonlight, showing us a glint of scythe, a Mephisto-style devil mask before he strikes a fatal, tryst-ending blow, decapitating them both and takes the heads as trophies. These types of scenes play off the style and tone really well, making it appear to fit in with the genre while also keeping up its difference point all the better. When it decides to go for the horror aspects, though, the results are just spectacular. In one standout moment, a couple of club-goers find a headless body slumped in a toilet cubicle, covered in blood, initially thinking it's an elaborate Halloween joke until the body twitches which sends them all into hysterics is quite inventive. Another fantastic scene has the killer off a victim on a crowded dance floor, stabbing them in the gut with a sickle before decapitating him as the strobe-lights work overtime overhead. That works extremely well in the context of a slasher flick set around the theatrics and artifice of a Halloween night carnival. It also helps that the scene comes off like a real set-piece rather than just shoe-horned in, and is pulled off spectacularly. Easily the best, though, is when one character is outlandishly saved by his glass eye stopping the killer's sickle piercing his brain. The sight of the blade touching the eye with the metallic clink plainly heard, the suspense set up to ensure a great site, and tense moment leading up to it are played off perfectly and make it a superb scene in every sense. In fact, the slashing and stalking are purely stand-out in every way, and are there to ensure that it gets enough points about it to make for an entertaining film. The unnamed and ostensibly motiveless murderer is appropriately dark, shadowy, merciless and perfunctory in his killing. There's also some memorable kills, mainly through the use of decapitations resulting in many nice splatter moments. Mixed together with a stupendous pace and some wonderful humor, this one manages to be really entertaining.
The Bad News: This one here has a couple of flaws, though they aren't big and important. One is that the kills aren't all that graphic even though they are decapitations. It really should've used another style of death to help make an even bigger impression, but none of the kills are really as bloody as they could've been. The other problem with this is that there's nothing groundbreaking in the depiction of gay men behind closed doors or even out reveling in the wildness that is the West Hollywood Halloween Festival. That might have made this film a bit more interesting, instead of having it be just a different take on the tired old slasher clichés. Sure, we see some of the guys kissing but that's as far as anything sexual goes. If the film really wanted truly different, we would have seen more of what one sees in the typical slasher movie, the T&A and simulated sex, only in this film, it would have been male genitalia and ass with the simulated sex. This has plenty of opportunities to do so, and while those may not be for some out there based on it's very nature of it's themes, but these parts here are what really hold this one down.
The Final Verdict: An absolutely enjoyable homosexual slasher, with enough about it to be enjoyed by those who enjoy that style of film while also making it easy for heterosexual ones to get something out of it as well. Recommended to both styles, while those who can't get past the themes and issues should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and strong sexual themes