Single-location storytelling is a challenge in the filmmaking game. But Brock Bodell absolutely rises to the challenge with his first feature. Hellcat is a taut thriller that makes the most of its limited space and small cast. It sets up a story filled with questions and goes about patiently filling in the details in a way that leaves audiences on the edge of their seats.
Lena (Dakota Gorman) wakes up in a cramped trailer. She is groggy, with no memory of how she came to be there. Her arm is sporting a rather vicious wound, which has been cleaned and bandaged. The trailer is in motion and as she looks around, trying to get her bearings, the voice of the driver comes over the intercom and urges her to remain calm. He explains that she has been infected with a deadly virus. He is taking her to a doctor who can help.
Frightened, Lena doesn’t know what to believe. Can you really trust the voice of the person who kidnapped you? The driver introduces himself as Clive (Todd Terry), and though the situation makes it kind of hard to believe, he swears that he means her no harm and is taking her to get help.
As time goes on, the wound in Lena’s arm gets angrier and she begins to feel the effects of whatever is impacting her more acutely. Clive swears that she will be okay and that help is not far off, but is he to be believed?
The tense tug of war going on between the girl in the camper and the man driving the truck is good enough that you’re tempted to be a bit disappointed when the setting opens up a bit and Clive and Lena briefly share the same space before some other characters are introduced. The film stays small, but those opening 20 minutes or so really knock you off your feet and lay the groundwork for the myriad of ways in which the lives of these two characters overlap.
As the story progresses, we shift perspectives and spend some time with Clive. Is he a malicious man who plans to harm Lena? Is he kind hearted, but perhaps disconnected from reality? Or does he know that the details of Lena’s particular situation defy logic and is willing to help because she has no other options? The film plays with us in this regard as we learn a bit more about the lives of these two characters. How Lena lost her mother and Clive has had to play the single father to his daughter after the loss of his wife. There are a lot of things they could connect on, were it not for this whole kidnapping thing.
Bodell really plays with the audience in an effective way. We’re not sure who can be trusted in this situation or what is really happening in this trailer. Clearly, Lena is being affected by something, but what? And how did it come to be? Clive has her locked in her trailer and is driving her around the empty roads of nowhere, but he also legitimately seems to care about her and doesn’t seem to wish her harm. The pair have been thrust together through a strange set of circumstances and are finding their way through as best they can.
The story slowly fills in the details about these characters’ lives and how they came to cross paths on this particular night. Though the proceedings can seem a little frustrating at times, the destination is well worth it. Bodell unveils the truths of this story when he is good and ready, and not a moment before. The character motivations, their pasts, and the layers of truth to their present situation are all communicated to the audience at an intentional pace, which keeps the mystery at the heart of the film strongly intact.
Gorman and Terry are fantastic in their roles and individual characters, as well as a shared dynamic that really gives this story legs. Gorman, in particular, has some heavy lifting throughout the film, and the finished product wouldn’t be as strong were she not up to the challenge.
Audiences will have a fun time trying to figure out the truth at the heart of this story. The details that are casually dropped over the course of the 90-minute runtime are like puzzle pieces in the lives of the characters—vague and seemingly disconnected details, until the final pieces fall into place and the full scope of the image can finally be seen.
Movie Score: 3.5/5
Emily von Seele hails from Seattle, where it rains a lot, which gives her plenty of excuses to stay inside and watch movies. She has written for Bloody Disgusting, Daily Dead, the Women in Horror Annual and Grim Magazine, and is co-host of the Dead Ringers podcast. You can usually catch Emily on Twitter (@horrorellablog), where she has been known to gab excessively about movies and tweet adorable pics of her two cats - seriously, they are the cutest ever.
Emily von Seele hails from Seattle, where it rains a lot, which gives her plenty of excuses to stay inside and watch movies. She has written for Bloody Disgusting, Daily Dead, the Women in Horror Annual and Grim Magazine, and is co-host of the Dead Ringers podcast. You can usually catch Emily on Twitter (@horrorellablog), where she has been known to gab excessively about movies and tweet adorable pics of her two cats - seriously, they are the cutest ever.
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