Hellmington

Great build up. Some interesting storylines and then suddenly, it's as though the viewer says "Oh, the villian must be blah!" Writer "OK, you got me! Guess we're done here. The end."

A couple of the major plots seem completely disparate and then, suddenly.. the end credits roll?

I didn't even read the synopsis before watching "Hellmington", but half way through it was apparent what kind of beast this is. The main selling point for me was Michael Ironside & an appearance from a growing director favorite of mine - Adam McDonald.

"Hellmington" is the name of the county where the story takes place & a big-city detective is returning there to fight demons of the past & solve the mystery. Sounds familiar? Nevertheless, "Hellmington" turned out to be just alright. It's visibly low-budget, with most of the action happening sort-of-off-screen, but clever editing plays a part here as well, same applies to the cinematography. Whenever Michael Ironside appears to fill in his supporting role, he's received with open hands, and yes, the rest of the performances are fine as well. "Hellmington" is a mediocre (or maybe slightly above that) mystery, written well enough to keep You engaged - everything clicks at the end, to an arguably satisfying level. The kind of mystery that won't blow your mind and will be forgotten fast enough. The pacing is steady enough, but would start falling flat if the total runtime was 10 minutes longer. One thing I liked at the start but disliked at the end was the original score - it's quite repetitive. Sadly, I have to mention that the notes of horror are rare and not very loud, "Hellmington" qualifies to be called a mystery thriller. At best.

There's nothing very impressive or memorable about "Hellmington", but it's also not cheesy, goofy or effortless. If you're a fan of indie mysteries and want a one night stand with a movie you'll never watch again, here it is. My rating: 5/10.

I'm 57 min deep...and I'm like.."uhhhh...okay?..." This movie is soooo slow and prematurely dramatic for something that's so mysterious there's no pertinent clues shared to make it interesting. The main character's uncle was the only thing I raised an eyebrow for since Total Recall is a classic. I have dedicated 57 min....25 min left... I'm too far in not to finish it. ughhh.

A few jump scares, but fundamentally a movie that is just chewing gum for the brain. Instantly forgettable. I watched with the hope that things would get better but it felt like there was a better story trying to get out but nobody knew how to make it happen. A truly confusing movie, not in a "this is too smart for me" way but as in "did some pages fall out of the script" way. If there is really nothing better to watch, go for a walk....

This film had the makings of something really interesting. The lead develops from stone cold bitch to something more interesting (although a longer run time may have made that process a little more organic), Michael Ironside is solid as ever and a whole host of weird and wonderful characters get introduced but never fully explained.

The plot, though rather conventional, has enough to sustain momentum beyond the 80 odd minutes of the film so why the crunch on runtime?

Without giving too much away, it's worth a watch and would easily be a 7+/10 if the filmmakers had just given it time to breath!!