Helstrom (2020) User Reviews

Surprisingly Decent

[ROOKreations · 7/10 · 16 October 2020]

I admit I don't know much on the original source material, so I can't speak to its overall accuracy. In general I think the show has its moments. I appreciate that it doesn't shy away from the brutality of its content and stays relatively true to the horror and fantasy elements of it. The show is pretty simple in its execution which I think is fine. The Helstrom siblings are interesting and seem to give a decent performance with the mostly average script. The side characters feel pretty two-dimensional.

The real quality in the show lies in the members of the Helstrom family themselves who, thankfully and rightfully so, carry the show. I know the show won't be renewed and this is a one time thing, but it's mostly decent and I think worth your time.

Entertaining!

[jocochran-834-240856 · 8/10 · 18 October 2020]

I went into this without any expectations, other than to watch a new Hulu original show. I absolutely enjoyed it! Austen hit the right notes as a quiet but effective demon with big range and Lemmon and Uy were great together. If you're expecting total Marvel, you probably won't feel satisfied but it's a fun watch.

Highly watchable fantasy horror

[m-buckle · 8/10 · 22 October 2020]

This has unfairly low ratings given how binge-worthy it is! I watched the whole season in one go, very interested to see where they take it in season 2. Watch if you enjoy shows about demons/nuns/exorcisms.

90 minutes of story in 10 episodes

[toadyblegh · 6/10 · 18 October 2020]

Helstrom isn't terrible, but nor is it particularly good. It suffers from the curse of the Netflix/Hulu format - 10 long episodes dumped for streaming, that forces producers to fill the long minutes with needless back cuts, dreary prologue and stuffy detail. As a result the story drags painfully to a predictable, tiresome conclusion signalled several episodes in advance. It doesn't help that the underlying story is basically an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the acting is patchy - Sydney Lemmon is remarkable, Tom Austen is lost playing a character so dull and uptight that nobody could ever have made them interesting. It's not all bad, though. The cinematography is incredible, the soundtrack is great, the wardrobes are sublime (Ana's clothes), the sets... well... All in all, there are good bits in Helstrom, but the whole is a lot less than the sum of its parts.

Helstrom isn't perfect or particularly unique, but it is a pretty good atmospheric supernatural horror drama.

[mynameisdetonation · 7/10 · 17 October 2020]

The story may not be overwhelmingly unpredictable, but nor is that the point. This is about Ana and Damon and the people around them--who they are and what they go through. The acting and direction is mostly strong, as is the attention to detail. The dialogue is smart and reasonably natural. While the production is generally solid, it sags notably in the make-up department--where the work ranges from good to perfunctory and outright incongruous. (A strange area for a reasonably high-profile production to flounder, these days.) The FX work is all right albeit very derivative--as is the soundtrack, which thankfully never slips into being overly bombastic or loud.

When it comes to writing, the series definitely could have used a more coherent approach. The fact that there were twelve (12) different writers for this ten-episode run bleeds through and muddles the narrative. In some episodes (the sixth one in particular) trite, traileresque exposition overwhelms the otherwise stark and intimate narrative style, making for an awkward and ironically comic-like detour.

As for the story's adherence to the original--well, which original? Daimon's inception was in the early seventies. Both he and his sister (who has a considerably smaller role in most of the comics) have been portrayed in various ways through the years. The '75-'77 run is vastly different to the later two, which in turn don't entirely align either (and that's not even getting into the disparate appearances the characters have made in other comics.) Marvel loves alternate universes, and this is an accomplished, more restrained and human version which I think works really well. (I admit, though--while I really like Austen's and Lemmon's portrayals, I would've preferred for the siblings to at least have been redheads. Also, that title sequence is just off.)

If you like sombre, portentuous horror drama series with a focus on character interplay, this is probably for you. If you come in expecting Hollywood spectacular or a straightforward comic adaptation, you are going to be sorely disappointed.

What is wrong with the critics

[bwhitaker-24279 · 9/10 · 21 October 2020]

So I have never written a review before. I read the professional critics reviews and honestly I think most of them have forgotten how to just watch a show and enjoy it. Was it the best I've every seen no - was it entertaining yes. So if your looking for something entertaining and supernatural your thing you should check it out. I really hope Hulu reconsiders a season 2

Not bad

[in-imdb-1 · 7/10 · 1 November 2020]

At first I found this show ridiculous, especially the two main characters. But things become more interesting after one episodes or two. The plot is richer than I expected. Psychology discussions are rather good for a TV show. There is action, mystery. It is not about social justice or social commentary (at last!), it is about what a TV show is supposed to be: a story. Then cinematography, wardrobe, locations are interesting. Good production design. The female lead is a bit too much at times but can also be interesting at different periods. As a whole, this is a better than average show, dark, sometimes innovative.

Well Done!

[GKoeneke · 8/10 · 20 October 2020]

This series reminds me of CBS' Evil, but not riding the "is it supernatural or psychological" line. It's fully supernatural. I'm not sure where this came from at Marvel because this is a Supernatural, Angels and Demons, God vs the Devil type of series. It's more like "Constantine", the Movie not the series, than it is anything else. It does have horror elements, but not a scary movie "it'll freak you out" type of horror. There is a lot of eerie feelings and blood and gore.

Overall, the writers put together a good plot line that keeps moving and keeps you guessing. I'm still not sure if these are what we consider to be actual Demons from Hell or if it's something else. It could be more Marvel's Mutants instead of God and the Devil, but there is an element of body hopping possession through time. I can't wait to find out.

The cast is well put together making the acting pretty good from all the main characters. No one stood out as "they don't fit their role" or anyone who just can't act.

I'm looking forward to a season 2 from Hulu.

Just Hell! No Storm

[dextermorgan-91603 · 17 October 2020]

A pale and zany butchered adaptation of the the source material from the pages of classic Marvel Horror. Both of the leads are wasted and instead the focus is on other boring meandering subplots which adds nothing valuable to the story. Sydney lemmon fares much better than the charismatic yet moody Tom Austen but I don't think it's because of the acting. I'm quite sure both are equally good but Daimon's character has zero personality and as such treated without reverence (when in reality or should i say comic book world?) he's usually a brooding, melancholic pariah from existence. He's got nowhere to go, ostracized from society due to his demonic heritage for being the son of Satan and branded as a traitor by the forces of netherworld (who are the closest thing he's got to a kin) due to rejecting pure Evil. But he acts it out as if it's nothing and all's good to go. Too bad but there were glimmers of SatANA's (Sydney's character) personality sprinkled. But that's it... sprinkled and not ex positioned properly. She's a succubus after all, draining the life force of men by seducing them could have been much much better but alas. One thing you have to understand is that our leads are NOT heroes like your cookie cutter good vs villain stuff but rather afflicted by evil who are trying to shed their demonic heritage, they have to keep their dark side under control, waging a perpetual war to subdue their inherent evil by righting a wrong. The major dichotomy between the siblings is that Daimon rejects the ways and teachings of Evil while her sister welcomes it with open arms. None of it is properly explained or shown. The side characters of caretaker and hastings are utterly distracting and adds nothing to empathize our hell spawn duo siblings. Nor do complement our leads in any way just monotonous drab dialogue without much implications. They should have been fleshed out thoroughly. And Visual effects are barely decent compared to production houses that nowadays usually work with. The stakes are absent even when demonic forces are at work and a sense of foreboding doom should linger around. The dialogue is somewhat good but again sprinkled, fails overall. just stay away and read the source material available for free online

Quite disappointing

[MrTheEmbalmer · 6/10 · 25 March 2021]

It was extremely gripping at the beginning and few episodes in. All the fights and humour was truly great. Unfortunately in typical TV show fashion the action and wonderful play changed into dramatics and love story quite quickly. What I found especially confusing was the shows of superpowers. One episode they just physically fight, the other they can defeat 10 opponents in the same time using only their mind power so... which is it? Seemed like the series couldn't really decide so they went up and down once character was pretty weak to then make it extremely powerful. And oh my I knew I wouldn't like Gabriella one bit first scene I've seen her. First she stops entire action then she becomes a victim and then narration try to makes her some sort of tougj girl... I don't buy it one bit. Overall I found her very annoying and bland to say the least. To sum it all up not a bad watch but found myself skipping though few last episodes just out of pure boredom.

I stopped caring

[shurgee · 4/10 · 19 October 2020]

I gave this show a good 5-episode run before I just had to stop. I had figured out what was wrong. The characters were simply unlikeable. All of them! The brother was constantly sulking. He seems annoyed to be 'helping out' but I can't imagine where he would rather be. He's an all-round dud. The sister seems to have an ever-growing, self-fueled, chip on her shoulder. The mentor was not particularly engaging nor believable in her role. She needed a doctorate to decide that the patient in her weakened state needed fresh air? The mentor's assistant who follows the nun around? Snooze. The nun-in-training? Every time her character popped back onscreen I had to remind myself of who she was. The possessed mother? Gimme a break. How long can you play out a demon-possession where nothing really happens? Then there was something with a skull and a gay police officer/boyfriend? Yawn. At no point did I find myself connecting with anyone over anything. I tried.

1st time Hulu has me hooked on a series!

[fuentesf-31001 · 10/10 · 24 October 2020]

Omg I simply love the demonic relationship in the family and it's history! The drama, action and suspense was really well put! I love it and I would love it if they continue this series it has a lot to offer ! It reminds me of the " supernatural tv series " the whole vibe of brother & brother, But in this series is brother and sister. It has potential !

It's not great and not bad but it feels a bit familiar

[freddy_at_home · 7/10 · 18 October 2020]

Demon hunter, haunted by the past, special powers. Sound familiar? Yes it does. Lucifer, Evil, Prodigal Son and Supernatural. If you mix them together you get Helstrom. Or almost, at least.

That don't mean that it can't be fun. First 2-3 episodes are fun and mysterious, but then it slowly turns into a more very main stream show. That's too bad. Again, I won't say it's all bad, it just gets a little predictable and slow.

At least it's not all that "super" as the typical Marvel comic books. Give it a watch and see what you think. It's worth giving a chance. 7/10

Well that was interesting

[DangerousDag · 2/10 · 17 October 2020]

Actually, no it wasn't.

Let's all fight evil by talking about our feelings. Let's eat hipster food and talk about our feelings and the demons will be vanquished. Let's sit in a confessional and talk about our feelings and evil will be conquered. Let's be terrible at acting while talking about our feelings and good will triumph over evil. Let's be unable to write a single line of original dialogue while we fight evil and bore the demons to death.

An unfortunate side effect of this strategy is that the audience is also bored.

Ana bore off

[sallyannhemmings · 6/10 · 13 May 2021]

The character Ana ruined this whole series for me! And that haircut why hasn't anyone told her how awful it looks? Ana aside it was pretty decent! I especially liked spiveys rib mouth - creepy AF! The blood was a great concept but I didn't understand why they turned against the 'caretaker'

Should have stuck to source material

[KatarBlade · 6/10 · 19 April 2021]

Show was okay. But I wanted more Hellstrom like in comics. Less of what they gave. Felt like a weak Constantine. Paving was just meandering and slow. What could have been amazing was just average. Top of my head could think of a dozen things to pep it up. Worth watching if fan of Hellstorm from comics.

Marvel made yet another mistake by cancelling this one!

[GKoeneke · 8/10 · 5 November 2021]

This whole Drop Anything not on Disney + fiasco we've been dealing with the last several years is getting to be a real pain in the A$$! Here is another really good Marvel series cancelled because it's not on Disney +. I'm pretty F&$#^&@ sick of this garbage from Disney. I feel like they are just trying to piss off as much of the fan base as possible at this point!

Odd

[carinnalowther · 6/10 · 5 October 2021]

The story was very good, characters interesting. Acting was good too. So it must be either the directing or post production. Because the story felt simultaneously too fast and too slow. But the idea was really cool.

Great new series

[natbro96 · 8/10 · 18 October 2020]

I just finished binge watching and it got better with each episode. Easy to follow and understand. Great acting. It had a Prodigal Son/Evil feel but it is it's own show. I wish there was a season 2 following straight after because I'm excited to see the next season. Well here's hoping for that season 2!

What's worse than demons ???

[conjuh_man · 6/10 · 16 October 2020]

Nothing spectacular or special unfortunately, Outcast comes to mind regarding the demons. Nothing awful either so we'll see. Bytheway you know what is the answer to the question in the title ???: mansplaining and offensive tones, no kidding, is in the ep.

Nothing new and drawn out.

[oldtraff · 4/10 · 18 October 2020]

My main gripe with a lot of tv series nowadays is how they all get dragged out with flashback, after flashback. Most of them could be condensed into 6 to 8 episodes, or in some cases a 2 hr. movie, instead we have to endure 10 to 12 episodes. There's nothing new here and ends up becoming tedious, i watched the first 5 episodes, so gave it a chance.

More please!

[xhellkellx · 8/10 · 20 October 2020]

We need more shows like this one! If Evil can get a second season then this one deserves more. Love the premise, love the execution. Bingeworthy content that kept me interested throughout. I really hope we don't lose another promising dark / supernatural series...too many good ones have fallen before their time.

Someone should have done better research.

[debbridge · 6/10 · 22 February 2022]

I could not get past the inaccurate use of the word "novitiate" .... A novitiate is the stage of formation in religious life or the place where novices live. The person is a novice. And a novice would not be sent on such a "mission". I know because I was one.

So far, I don't care about any of these characters

[dtandersen0 · 5/10 · 18 October 2020]

Three episodes in and the most horrific thing is Satanna's haircut

Ana Helstrom is the star of this show

[PaxD75 · 6/10 · 29 October 2020]

There are essentially three major groups directly and/or indirectly interacting with each other for most of the series.

Group 1: Daimon Helstrom, Gabriella Rosetti and Dr. Louise Hastings

Group 2: Ana Helstrom, Chris Yen and Caretaker

Group 3: Victoria Helstrom and her fellow demons whose function, as villains, was to get Group 1 and Group 2 to interact.

The Ana and Victoria Helstrom groups were, by far, what carried this series.

I'd go so far to say that Ana Helstrom was what Daimon should have been. Ana was ferocious, daring, charismatic, emotionally complex. Teamed up with Chris Yen, who delivered on some of the best writing, made this group the main reason to watch this series.

Victoria Helstrom delivered early on as a possessed and scary demonic force but, as the series progressed, her role (as well as others in her ilk) became convoluted and muddy. So as important as this group's role was for the series, the messy delivery, by series end, helped dismantle a promising start.

The third group, led by Daimon, was the show's biggest fail. While I found Gabriella and Louise to be exceptional characters matched by the performances of the respective actors, Daimon himself was an utter failure all around.

There is no sugar coating this: Tom Austen is simply not a good actor. He lacked any range, there were no emotional high and lows. He was, in fact, monotone throughout the series. Whenever he attempted to deliver any line that required emotions, it was forced. He was not able to evoke the character; never becoming the part he was playing.

Not be outdone... the Daimon character himself was very poorly written. He was a boy scout, a whiner and disinterested in anything except his mother. I'll admit that I haven't read any Daimon Helstrom comics in over 15 years - but this is not the Daimon (the Son of Satan, fire and brimstone coursing through his veins) that I recall. He was defanged and coupled with a monotone actor. His entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe - a failure.

Should you watch this? Tough call. I'm glad I watched this for Ana Helstrom. I loved the character and Sydney Lemmon's portrayal of her. This might be enough to get you through the series - as her group's scenes were easily a 9 rating.

Overall, the series gets a 6.