The Familial Film collective once again prove why they’re one of the best things in horror right now.
The familial film collective known as The Adams Family are doing things like no other in the indie landscape. The group composed of parents John Adams and Toby Poser, along with their daughters Zelda and Lulu Adams are making handmade horror that not only manages to resonate with critics but horror fans as well. Over the last few years this has cemented both a loyal and passionate following of which I consider myself a proud member. I was honestly on the outside for Hellbender’s initial release and came into their orbit with Where the Devil Roams, thanks to the love they were getting from friends and colleagues.
Their films are pure independent, do-it-yourself filmmaking but in the best ways possible. What they lack in budget, they make up for with passion, narrative and some truly impressive performances. In a special arrangement with Shudder, Arrow recently put out Hellbender on Blu-ray and I finally got the chance to see the film that I feel like most folks seem to associate with them. First off, Hellbender is the rare example of a COVID film that thankfully doesn’t feel like a COVID film. It’s a folk horror coming of age story that follows young Izzy (Zelda Adams) and her mother (Toby Poser) who live in a secluded piece of land in the mountains. Izzy has been told her entire life that she has some bizarre contagious disease and that’s allowed her mother to control and keep her sheltered from the world. But she soon learns the truth, she is something much different and much more powerful and dangerous thanks to a day partying with her new friend Amber (Lulu Adams).
Hellbender offers up an original flavor of folk horror creature, the Hellbender that is just different enough, yet familiar too to keep the audience intrigued but vested. The film primarily is about the close relationship between Izzy and her mother and that power dynamic that shifts in parenthood in the late teens, as the teen transitions into young adult. The film uses its supernatural device to show how much more dangerous these young adults can be once they figure out their parents are mortal just like them and can be wounded. While Izzy starts off the film as the perfect daughter, she goes through a terrifying metamorphosis throughout the runtime as she learns what she truly is and the power she can possess, in a rather impressive take that walks a fine line between chaos and control.
Given this was probably viewed by most via Shudder, this is the best you’ve ever seen this film look. Shudder thankfully is smart enough to understand horror fan’s love for physical media and is making this film available as a trial run of sorts to see if fans who love these films will want to own them for their collection. The extras here are reminiscent of the old days of indie cinema, where they pull back the curtain to show how various shots and CGI was done – think old school Troublemaker in how it’s attempting to democratize filmmaking. Also I have to note seeing how Zelda operated the drone and camera, her mother shooting her own pieces and their father acting in the film shows how collaborative of an act and how wholesome these films actually are.
Special Features include:
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Original lossless stereo 2.0 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with filmmakers Toby Poser, John Adams, Zelda Adams and Lulu Adams
- From the Forest She Rises, a brand new video essay by filmmaker Jen Handorf
- Black Magic Tricks, a featurette on the visual effects by VFX artist Trey Lindsay
- Behind-the-scenes compilation footage
- Fort Worden (2021), a short film by Zelda Adams
- Four music videos: Hit and Run (2024), Drive (2021), Lovely (2021) and Black Sky (2020)
- Original trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Beth Morris and original artwork by Sister Hyde
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Natasha Ball and Kat Hughes
Watching this now, it’s easy to see why this was the gateway film for most fans of the collective, the performances feel effortless yet engaging, and that helps the material and the characters instantly take hold of the viewer. That coupled with a rather intriguing and original folk horror entity offers up a stirring genre entry that’s as sincere in its look at motherhood as it is the perils of nature versus nurture. It’s not an easy concept, but it’s executed flawlessly through this engaging and emotionally charged metaphor. Hellbender simply put is just a perfect genre film in that it knows exactly what its trying to do and how it’s going to do it. Now you can even own it and further unlock its secrets thanks to Arrow.
