Hellmington

(2018) Hellmington MYSTERY THRILLER

Co-written and directed by Jay Drakulic and Alex Lee Williams with the daughter of a prison guard, Samantha Woodhouse (Nicola Correia-Damude) or Sam for short visiting her dad, Joe Woodhouse (Andre Brussieres). And before he dies, he then gives her a name of "Katie Owens". And the first things she does is ask her uncle, Rupert Woodhouse (Michel Ironside) who happens to work in law enforcement himself whether she can read Katie Owens file. The last officer who worked on Katie Owens case file was Detective Abdi Khan (Gabe Grey). Viewers then find out that the word "Hellmington" is a name of a high school. We also find out that both Sam Woodhouse and Katie Ownes attend to the same high school and that the last person who saw her alive was her boyfriend, Brad Kovacs (Munro Chambers).

What viewers was hoping the movie to be was a routine mystery movie, the last five minutes asked more questions than it answers. In other words, the ending sucked.

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.

Really there was not any horror elements to this film. More of a Drama, and somewhat a mystery, but not by much. As another review mentioned the ending seemed rushed and was really ineffective in giving the movie a good stamp. Can not recommend.

The story distorts perspective by forcing elements of near psychotica inducing moments that cause you to question the protagonist's mental state. "HELLmington's" main plot is a suspensful mystery involving a cold case that once revealed is disturbing, and relevant. It plays out like a dark web nightmare version of a ID channel episode.

At the start, the film is both confusing, distorted and emotionless. A stylistic trick that is as visually creative as it is questioning. Much like the actually story line- what happened in 1999?, Who is messing with Samantha Woodhouse?, and how much of the story is even real? I can't tell if this warping of the film's beginning is intentional artistry or accidental. I did find it intriguing.

The cast create some stoic, gothic characters reminiscent of Fargo' or 'Twin Peaks'. There are moments when the story trips on it's own weightiness. It is a dark, slumbering plot. Still, "HELLmington" begins to show it's true depth of darkness around 50 minutes in and the suspense and chilling nature becomes elevated.

The horror never really gets there fully, but atmospherically it is creepy- in a sleepwalking down an alleyway after midnight- kinda way. There is visual elements that play on occult horror thems, much in the way 'Riverdale' did it with the Gargoyle King. The cinematography moves from unimaginative stationary shots to some truly stunning horror fueled thriller moments. Overall "HELLmington" is a nice, chilling nightmare with a twist ending.

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!!