Fantasia International Film Festival (FIFF) – Hellbender is a coming-of-age tale with a creative occult twist. Loner Izzy (Zelda Adams) doesn’t worry about typical teenage problems, like school or boys. Instead, she has much larger identity issues. She discovers after eating a worm that she’s a hellbender, meaning she’s part witch, part demon, and part apex predator. Her mother (Toby Poser) tries to keep this from her. But like all great power, it can’t be contained. Izzy’s lust for blood and the high it gives her transforms her from a girl with no friends to a vengeful hellspawn.

Initially, Izzy spends her days hiking in the woods alone and swimming in rivers. Her mother forbids her from seeing others but never tells her why. Izzy’s only entertainment, other than wandering in nature, is playing drums in a goth band with her mom. It’s certainly not your average mother/daughter relationship. How many mothers paint their eyelids black and sing songs about the occult? Izzy learns of her power after befriending wild and carefree Amber (Lulu Adams). At a party, she eats a worm a friend drops into her drink. She then discovers her yearning for blood, which sparks her thirst for greater power and bigger kills. This is what her mother feared. Meanwhile, her new friends ditch her due to her bizarre behavior.

Written and directed by Adams, Poser, and John Adams, Hellbender is so enjoyable for many reasons. Watching Adams’ character grow from a mousy teen into a fierce creature willing to turn men into dust is wildly entertaining. Further, Poser’s performance as a protective matriarch trying to keep her daughter’s addiction at bay is endearing. The duo works perfectly together, which is important since they’re the only ones featured for most of the runtime. Much of the film focuses on the evolution and changes in their relationship as Izzy matures. The relationship is so believable because Adams and Poser are actual mother and daughter, and John Adams is the patriarch, so this project is truly a family affair. Lulu is their other daughter.

At times, the film leans into the absurd with trippy dream sequences that mirror LSD-fueled horror from the 1970s. The more Izzy’s power grows, the more outrageous her mother’s visions become. By the end of the film, Izzy becomes a commanding presence, a self-assured woman who relishes her abilities, unafraid to use them, her mother’s warnings be damned.

As fun as Hellbender is, and it really is, there’s a little more going on beneath the surface. Izzy’s drive to kill could serve as a metaphor for addiction, especially when the mother shares the story of her mother (Izzy’s grandmother), who was hanged for constantly murdering. She wants to teach Izzy to temper these urges, but Izzy’s high becomes too great. When she gets the first taste, she wants to eat something beyond worms. This urge only grows to the point that only human deaths will suffice.

Hellbender is a movie for and about outcasts. There’s something mesmerizing about watching a quiet girl transform into an all-powerful monster. Haven’t we all wanted to punish those who disliked us because we’re different? Yet, beneath the surface lies a not-so-subtle narrative about addiction. This is one coming-of-age tale with great characters and a mother/daughter relationship forged from the fires of hell.

The film will screen as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival, happening August 5-25. It has also been acquired by Shudder for release at a later date.

9 Out of 10