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Makes the camper feel like a prison and the outside world apocalyptic
I love going into a film knowing nothing about it and coming out the other end with a refreshing take on a horror sub-genre. Which is exactly what Hellcat delivered, and I’m going to attempt to keep that same experience for you, as it’s easy to spoil this one with such a simple premise.
The film begins with Lena (Dakota Gorman) waking up inside a moving camper. She begins to talk to the driver, Clive (Todd Terry), through a microphone inside an ominous wolf head above the bed. But he’s unwilling to give a proper explanation as to why she’s ended up in the back of his van, nor an answer that makes sense for the wound on her arm and the black vein that is slowly moving along this wound closer to her body.
Clive says he’s a good man; he’s a hunter, but a good man, as he repeats several times in the film. He also claims what he’s doing is to help Lena. She doesn’t believe him, of course, and neither would you if you woke up in a strange man’s camper. The doors are locked, the windows are barred, and you find syringes with medication you know to be used to knock people unconscious in the mini-bar. Your phone has been taken from you, and although Clive offers to use it for you, wouldn’t you want to fight back if you were left with nothing but questions?
As the film progresses, we learn more about both Lena- what she was doing before being picked up by Clive- but we also learn more about Clive and his estranged relationship to his daughter, which may have something to do with what’s happened to Lena. Learning about the two characters as they learn about themselves makes for an interesting watch, as they’re both, obviously, keeping some secrets, and as an audience you begin to wonder exactly who is keeping the truth in the open.
With some smart use of the camera, writer and director Brock Bodell makes the camper feel like a prison and the outside world apocalyptic. Almost like Lena hasn’t just been kidnapped but transported into a complete unknown. There’s a thumping score here from Zak Engel that also adds to the growing tension and the sense of what will happen next, the intentions of those around Lena, and the ultimate destination.
The journey has a payoff, and although I can see some viewers not loving the direction the story takes, I found it to be a rather cathartic ending for all involved, with a bittersweet taste to the final act.
(Screener provided to Explosion Network.
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