I don't understand why horror films are always so harshly judged more than any other genre, my rule of thumb is to always add 2 to any horror rating but maybe 2 was not enough for this film. It was an enjoyable horror comedy taking a different and original view of exorcism movies. Not brilliant but i enjoyed this film!
17 Reviews
Great effects, but story meanders
gregsrants12 September 2012
Having its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Hellbenders comes to us from the mind of writer/director JT Petty who was the man calling the shorts behind Mimic 3: Sentinel (2003) and The Burrowers (2008).
The film takes us inside the Hellbound Saints of Brooklyn Parish where the members are a group of vile quasi-Catholic priests who spend their days soaked in immorality in efforts to overtly break each of the seven deadly sins. Their licentiousness is recorded by a fellow member of the parish (Andre Royo) and the intention is to be so morally reprehensible that you can be possessed by a demon and then pull that demon into hell with you after taking your own life. This is the motivation for members to be "damnation-ready" for when the time is needed for them to spring into action.
The 'church' is always in a state of readiness. And when the phone rings with reports of a demon sighting, the members jump into action to both bloody and comedic effect. Think of them like the Ghostbusters, except this team likes to smoke, get drunk and commit as many sins as possible for heading out on assignment.
Things get hairy when two of the members try to exorcise a demon only to have one of them become possessed with an evil spirit intent on wiping out all of humanity. The remaining members must then put their feelings for the possessed priest aside as they attempt to thwart the demons world destruction plans.
With a cast that includes Clancy Brown, Dan Fogler, Macon Blair and Robyn Rikoon, Hellbenders was an interested but flawed profane 85-minute ride that stretched its interesting story about as far as audiences would concede.
The equal balance of comedy and supernatural elements worked fairly well and the cast seemed to be invested in the source material which was extracted from JT Petty's own graphic novel.
But the story just didn't grab us by the throat they way the director (I am sure) intended. Although these beings attempt to be as vile and profane as possible, they still didn't come across as evil and nasty as you would have hoped for such a dark comedy. And a whole storyline about the Parish being shut down by the church just felt like a diversion from the core story that was far more interesting.
The effects in the film were top rate. We were surprised at our screening to be passed 3D glasses, but as the movie progressed, we were conscious of the extra dimension and thought it was one of the better uses of the gimmick we have seen on screen. The make up and special effects were also comparable to big blockbuster type budgets.
But for a film demonic possession, it felt rather hollow and didn't give us enough of what the synopsis of the film promised. By the time the curtain was lowered and the cinema lights came back on, we had wished that JT Petty had spent more time on the characters themselves than on the story. We would have far more appreciated a feature just watching these guys sin and try and top each other rather than watching them demon hunt.
www.killerreviews.com
The film takes us inside the Hellbound Saints of Brooklyn Parish where the members are a group of vile quasi-Catholic priests who spend their days soaked in immorality in efforts to overtly break each of the seven deadly sins. Their licentiousness is recorded by a fellow member of the parish (Andre Royo) and the intention is to be so morally reprehensible that you can be possessed by a demon and then pull that demon into hell with you after taking your own life. This is the motivation for members to be "damnation-ready" for when the time is needed for them to spring into action.
The 'church' is always in a state of readiness. And when the phone rings with reports of a demon sighting, the members jump into action to both bloody and comedic effect. Think of them like the Ghostbusters, except this team likes to smoke, get drunk and commit as many sins as possible for heading out on assignment.
Things get hairy when two of the members try to exorcise a demon only to have one of them become possessed with an evil spirit intent on wiping out all of humanity. The remaining members must then put their feelings for the possessed priest aside as they attempt to thwart the demons world destruction plans.
With a cast that includes Clancy Brown, Dan Fogler, Macon Blair and Robyn Rikoon, Hellbenders was an interested but flawed profane 85-minute ride that stretched its interesting story about as far as audiences would concede.
The equal balance of comedy and supernatural elements worked fairly well and the cast seemed to be invested in the source material which was extracted from JT Petty's own graphic novel.
But the story just didn't grab us by the throat they way the director (I am sure) intended. Although these beings attempt to be as vile and profane as possible, they still didn't come across as evil and nasty as you would have hoped for such a dark comedy. And a whole storyline about the Parish being shut down by the church just felt like a diversion from the core story that was far more interesting.
The effects in the film were top rate. We were surprised at our screening to be passed 3D glasses, but as the movie progressed, we were conscious of the extra dimension and thought it was one of the better uses of the gimmick we have seen on screen. The make up and special effects were also comparable to big blockbuster type budgets.
But for a film demonic possession, it felt rather hollow and didn't give us enough of what the synopsis of the film promised. By the time the curtain was lowered and the cinema lights came back on, we had wished that JT Petty had spent more time on the characters themselves than on the story. We would have far more appreciated a feature just watching these guys sin and try and top each other rather than watching them demon hunt.
www.killerreviews.com
CIRCLE OF CONFUSION
nogodnomasters6 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The film opens up with the characters sitting cleverly in a "Last Supper" pose. They are introduced grindhouse style which was awkwardly inserted into the opening credits. Our group of exorcists come from various religious backgrounds. They maintain themselves in a state ready for damnation in case they must entice a demon for self possession followed by a quick suicide. Our holy men swear profusely, drink, do drugs, engage in adultery, homosexuality, and gluttony. In a Ghostbusters plot steal, they are attempting to save NYC and the world from the apocalypse while fitting eviction. They ride public transportation.
The film outline is great. However it lacked decent dialog under all the swearing which grows old. The climax scene couldn't bring it together and lacked the entertainment value of earlier scenes. I kept imagining how well this could have been as a Coen brothers' film with Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Woody Harrelson, Zach Galifianakis, Winona Ryder, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, and James Franco.
Parental Guide: Excessive swearing. Photo nudity.
The film outline is great. However it lacked decent dialog under all the swearing which grows old. The climax scene couldn't bring it together and lacked the entertainment value of earlier scenes. I kept imagining how well this could have been as a Coen brothers' film with Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Woody Harrelson, Zach Galifianakis, Winona Ryder, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, and James Franco.
Parental Guide: Excessive swearing. Photo nudity.
Opportunity squandered
AnusPresley26 October 2018
The core idea here is genius, the execution is not. This is something that should have been sat on, deliberated on, and perfected with no rush and delivered to those who could execute it with justice. Instead we have a rush job - poor acting, poor direction, poor script. In the hands of master writers, actors, directors? This could have been a masterpiece. It is not. Worth seeing once if you're really, really drunk. If not, skip to next.
I really can't give it more than a 3.
I really can't give it more than a 3.
Had potential but doesn't fully deliver
Seth_Rogue_One19 October 2014
This movie wasn't as entertaining as I expected it to be
Clifton Collins Jr is one of my favorite actors, but I don't know he just feels out of place here or he's not really trying too hard with his performance...
Clifton is a true character actor usually but he's just not giving his character much life in this one, could be the director's fault that he didn't give him much of a character to work with but anyways it becomes a pretty flat performance...
That's not to say that he's any worse than the rest of the cast he's not but I didn't have any expectations of the other cast so that's why I pointed him out...
The first half hour is pretty crap, it's mainly a comedy at that point with lame jokes that I don't expect many people will find funny and ill- delivered ones on top of that...
It improves in the last 50 minutes though when it turns into more of a horror, it still dabbles with comedy through out but at least there is some sort of plot that gets your interest if just a little bit...
In the end the movie is watchable, but if I bought it I would be very disappointed, luckily I was able to watch it for free and yeah it was worth the time I put in to watch it at least but that's really about it
They had some cool ideas like the idea that all the exorcist priests had to commit sins themselves in order to send the demons to hell and stuff but yeah it could've been a much better movie
Clifton Collins Jr is one of my favorite actors, but I don't know he just feels out of place here or he's not really trying too hard with his performance...
Clifton is a true character actor usually but he's just not giving his character much life in this one, could be the director's fault that he didn't give him much of a character to work with but anyways it becomes a pretty flat performance...
That's not to say that he's any worse than the rest of the cast he's not but I didn't have any expectations of the other cast so that's why I pointed him out...
The first half hour is pretty crap, it's mainly a comedy at that point with lame jokes that I don't expect many people will find funny and ill- delivered ones on top of that...
It improves in the last 50 minutes though when it turns into more of a horror, it still dabbles with comedy through out but at least there is some sort of plot that gets your interest if just a little bit...
In the end the movie is watchable, but if I bought it I would be very disappointed, luckily I was able to watch it for free and yeah it was worth the time I put in to watch it at least but that's really about it
They had some cool ideas like the idea that all the exorcist priests had to commit sins themselves in order to send the demons to hell and stuff but yeah it could've been a much better movie
Nor great but watchable
Sergiodave8 July 2022
Imagine a mix of the movies Stigmata, Shaun of the Dead and What we do in the Shadows and you have an idea of where they were aiming with this Comedy Horror. Unfortunately the comedy wasn't great and the horror was so-so. A clever idea but bad execution.
Disappointing, especially with that cast
spmact20 March 2014
The trailer for this seemed promising enough, but after watching I felt somewhat cheated. The comedy wasn't really there. I don't even remember laughing once. The characters weren't that interesting, except for maybe Clancy Brown's, but they didn't dig deep enough to make us really connect with him. The story was alright, but just wasn't executed well enough.
I normally like Brown, Clifton Collins Jr and especially Dan Fogler, but they couldn't save this unfortunately.
I'd pass this one up, unless you have some time to waste or are sure you have the same tastes as the people who gave this a good review.
I normally like Brown, Clifton Collins Jr and especially Dan Fogler, but they couldn't save this unfortunately.
I'd pass this one up, unless you have some time to waste or are sure you have the same tastes as the people who gave this a good review.
simply awful
melviss-4092215 November 2020
I'm not a prude by any means, so, the language didn't offend me. what did offend me is this is yet another comedy that isn't. I never laughed once, or, even cracked a smile. just kinda bewildered at how simply awful this waste of time is.
Heaven or hell?
kosmasp24 June 2020
The way of some preachers may be too crazy to actually understand. Then again this is a movie that is fun and light entertainment. Now I understand that some may be offended in their religion (whichever that may be, but most likely catholic I reckon). The movie is not trying to belittle you - well maybe just a little bit, but you know roll with it.
Laugh a little or just don't watch it. This has quite the cast put together and they all work off nicely off each other. It's clear they had fun doing this and why shouldn't you enjoy watching it then? Exactly. Not the best movie and humor is in the eye of the beholder (hits and misses), but far from a bad movie as the rating does suggest somehow
Laugh a little or just don't watch it. This has quite the cast put together and they all work off nicely off each other. It's clear they had fun doing this and why shouldn't you enjoy watching it then? Exactly. Not the best movie and humor is in the eye of the beholder (hits and misses), but far from a bad movie as the rating does suggest somehow
This is a COMEDY / Horror!!!!! And worth paying to see!
BigFknJoz11 November 2013
I've never reviewed a movie; but I have seen thousands, so I feel qualified enough to give an informed opinion. For what it was, this movie was freakin' Awesome! Don't forget that this is a cross genre movie. Don't get caught up in the fact that any serious horror fan wouldn't appreciate this or that, go into it knowing 'It's A Comedy/Horror'. This is a very well acted adult comedy using a horror theme. It's a great concept and well put together. There's plenty of gore and thrills to justify the horror tag, just don't expect the Exorcist and you will be well entertained. I am not involved with this or any other movie, I am just a dude who likes movies and gets pi$$ed-off when people misrepresent one to others by totally missing the whole point of it.
I will watch this movie again and make sure others do too. I gave it a 9/10 to try and even-out the D-bags who gave a low score but it is a solid 7/10. Acting, Concept, COMEDY/Horror; remember that.
I will watch this movie again and make sure others do too. I gave it a 9/10 to try and even-out the D-bags who gave a low score but it is a solid 7/10. Acting, Concept, COMEDY/Horror; remember that.
How can I convince you to watch this?
rushknight9 March 2014
Watch this movie.
It's fun and absolutely irreverent while being faithful at the same time. The basic plot idea is fairly novel, and works well with the story despite the obvious logical and religious fallacies that present themselves in such a scenario.
In the same way that the "Adams Family" brought a breath of fresh air to the TV sitcom industry, this film brings a breath of fresh (well, freshly laden with the scent of whiskey perhaps..) air to the idea of exorcism. The Adams are evil, dark, twisted and backward, and yet somehow manage to deeply embody the cherished values of any strong family.
This film works somewhat the same, but with a lot more swearing, sexual innuendos and gory battles. The priests are absolutely the worst of the worst, and purposely keep themselves yoked with the burden of as much sin as they can in order to "fight fire with fire." It's a new take on the idea for certain. The originality makes it fun, and you can tell that the writers got it down quick, with all of the energy that having a good idea can generate.
This is a movie that was made purely for the sake of outlandish enjoyment. It has few pretenses, and doesn't bother taking itself seriously at all.
If you don't mind a little swearing, some poking at religion, a few sexual references and some fake blood, then I suspect you will enjoy this movie. So put your cynicism and expectations on the sideline for a little while and watch this. It's a good time.
And if you decide to watch it, know that my personal favorite part was the scene with the cracker.. and make sure you read the credits.
It's fun and absolutely irreverent while being faithful at the same time. The basic plot idea is fairly novel, and works well with the story despite the obvious logical and religious fallacies that present themselves in such a scenario.
In the same way that the "Adams Family" brought a breath of fresh air to the TV sitcom industry, this film brings a breath of fresh (well, freshly laden with the scent of whiskey perhaps..) air to the idea of exorcism. The Adams are evil, dark, twisted and backward, and yet somehow manage to deeply embody the cherished values of any strong family.
This film works somewhat the same, but with a lot more swearing, sexual innuendos and gory battles. The priests are absolutely the worst of the worst, and purposely keep themselves yoked with the burden of as much sin as they can in order to "fight fire with fire." It's a new take on the idea for certain. The originality makes it fun, and you can tell that the writers got it down quick, with all of the energy that having a good idea can generate.
This is a movie that was made purely for the sake of outlandish enjoyment. It has few pretenses, and doesn't bother taking itself seriously at all.
If you don't mind a little swearing, some poking at religion, a few sexual references and some fake blood, then I suspect you will enjoy this movie. So put your cynicism and expectations on the sideline for a little while and watch this. It's a good time.
And if you decide to watch it, know that my personal favorite part was the scene with the cracker.. and make sure you read the credits.
Ribald and Raunchy Horror fun
joeywyss12 March 2014
Leave your political correctness at the door, and enjoy this raunchy and surprisingly well done horror movie. The vulgarity is 'integral to the plot' as the old saying goes. I thought it was being made as a horror comedy when it first started, and I was surprised that the cast was made up of seasoned experienced actors whom don't really appear in horror movies. Then the horror scenes began and I saw they were taking things seriously (raunchy humor aside). The scares are well done and imaginative (aside from the obviously tongue-in-cheek 'gateway' to hell), the story stays on pace when it cranks up , and it sets up for a sequel without being cheesy about it.
One of a Kind
revbighig16 November 2014
Only seven reviews so far, so I guess this movie slipped under the radar. Too bad. If the horror/comedy genre is your bag, you should catch this. Horror + Religion (The Exorcist) can be a pretty creepy combo, and this movie has its touches. The comedy aspect is not goofy slapstick, but sort of low key and character driven. Think of some of the weirder people you know -- likable, odd-ball funny, but not necessarily of the "ha ha" sort. Then mix in the over-the-top plot (well discussed in several reviews here), and you have something quite different and a real blast. The cast was wonderful. I loved Clancy Brown's character, a guy we probably all know, and Clifton Collins' good-hearted punk. I liked these "debauched" Hellbenders because they were still good-guy Regular Joes, struggling with the dichotomy of good vs. evil in a world (somewhat) more off-kilter then ours.
Enjoyable horror effort with lame comedy
kannibalcorpsegrinder28 May 2015
After a rash of reports about possessed people, a group of blasphemous priests intent on bringing deadly demons back to Hell find their greatest challenge in a resurrected demon attempting to reopen the gates of Hell.
Overall this one was quite an enjoyable and entertaining effort. What really tends to work the best in here is the utter joy this takes in warping the traditional take on the pious priests by here completely revealing and even encouraging others to partake in sinful behavior in order to do their jobs better. That's the fun of seeing them curse every other word, steal, cheat and engage in numerous acts that would be considered too profane for most normal priests. In turn, the film's best feature is the fact that these scenes are usually there to base off the main exorcism and possession scenes that occur here as there's several rather impressive ones from the opening scene showing them taking out a demon while having him throw them around the darkened basement where he's chained up while also finishing off the exorcism rites. Even later scenes where they try to save the possessed son who in turns starts the film's main plot makes for a great scene with the failed rites and generally enjoyable action allows the escaped being to really get a lot of impressive elements out by showcasing all the frantic action in the confined space with the failure of their performances for a wholly enjoyable sequence altogether, and the finale in the burning pit manages to evoke quite a large amount of fun with the fury of the demonic hordes ripping into the priests attempting to stop it, the violence against them in an attempt to halt the demonic incantations and the fun of having the whole thing done with firelight for a generally impressive and enjoyable offering. Along with the impressive demon make-up for the possessed creatures and rather frantic storyline that keeps everything moving along nicely that really works here, these are more than enough to hold out the lone flawed part of this whole thing in it's incredibly lame and stupid one-note comedy. The fact that all this has to rely on for it's comedy is the general rule-breaking and sinful behavior of the target priests, it soon grows old after realizing all they're doing is just that. It doesn't feature any real variety, doesn't take as much chances as it thinks it does, and worse off plays out better as a straight-forward horror effort without much need for comedy than it does as a horror/comedy, despite the ingeniousness of it's premise. Otherwise, this one was a lot of fun.
Rated R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, comedic homosexual sex scenes and comedic blasphemy.
Overall this one was quite an enjoyable and entertaining effort. What really tends to work the best in here is the utter joy this takes in warping the traditional take on the pious priests by here completely revealing and even encouraging others to partake in sinful behavior in order to do their jobs better. That's the fun of seeing them curse every other word, steal, cheat and engage in numerous acts that would be considered too profane for most normal priests. In turn, the film's best feature is the fact that these scenes are usually there to base off the main exorcism and possession scenes that occur here as there's several rather impressive ones from the opening scene showing them taking out a demon while having him throw them around the darkened basement where he's chained up while also finishing off the exorcism rites. Even later scenes where they try to save the possessed son who in turns starts the film's main plot makes for a great scene with the failed rites and generally enjoyable action allows the escaped being to really get a lot of impressive elements out by showcasing all the frantic action in the confined space with the failure of their performances for a wholly enjoyable sequence altogether, and the finale in the burning pit manages to evoke quite a large amount of fun with the fury of the demonic hordes ripping into the priests attempting to stop it, the violence against them in an attempt to halt the demonic incantations and the fun of having the whole thing done with firelight for a generally impressive and enjoyable offering. Along with the impressive demon make-up for the possessed creatures and rather frantic storyline that keeps everything moving along nicely that really works here, these are more than enough to hold out the lone flawed part of this whole thing in it's incredibly lame and stupid one-note comedy. The fact that all this has to rely on for it's comedy is the general rule-breaking and sinful behavior of the target priests, it soon grows old after realizing all they're doing is just that. It doesn't feature any real variety, doesn't take as much chances as it thinks it does, and worse off plays out better as a straight-forward horror effort without much need for comedy than it does as a horror/comedy, despite the ingeniousness of it's premise. Otherwise, this one was a lot of fun.
Rated R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, comedic homosexual sex scenes and comedic blasphemy.
Loosen up!
torymiller200023 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I am enjoying this film very much. yep, right now. Yes, we have the usual possessions, but the interfaith order is pretty Hilarious. If you do not mind the total disrespect of all religious Christian customs. Not being familiar with the graphic novel may be helping me, but more to the point, I enjoy horror comedies, and as far as I am concerned we cannot have enough. I love Cabin in the Woods, Shawn of the Dead, even The Stuff. I can never tell what film viewers are really looking for, but this is not the sort of film if you want serious gross outs. What feels new here is the debauched quality I feel from the hell bound saints. If we have seen less religious religious characters, my bad, but I loved the irreverent quality in this film.
Extremely Underrated comedy horror, anyone who rates it low doesn't get it!!!!
joiningjt26 December 2020
This is a hilarious movie, the slamming of religious exorcisms through great comedy, the comedic talent of this cast makes this a destined to have a cult following film. I have several scenes that made me laugh till I hurt, wont give anything away trust me watch this COMEDY horror and remember it's a COMEDY horror and you'll get it. Props to the whole cast, the writer /director and great crew thanks for the laugh out loud till it hurts comedy!!!! I soooooo needed it in this nightmare called 2020 .PLEASE make a sequel I'll buy the bluray, see it in the theater, and if I have to I'll stream it( my least favorite way to watch a film).
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