Hellbent

Synopsis:

Two gay men on a date are murdered the night before Halloween in West Hollywood, California. Eddie and his friends Joey, Chaz and Tobey are going out the following night to the West Hollywood Halloween festival when they encounter the psycho, who sets his eye on them. The killer stalks them through the festival as Chaz parties, Joey chases his jock crush, Tobey tries dressing in drag, and Eddie pursues Jake, the bad boy he wants to get to know better. Not until the very end do you find out who dies and who survives their night of terror.

Quick Thoughts:

If you’re after a queer horror film, “Hellbent” is the one you want! Proclaimed the “first gay slasher film”, this film lives up to its name and expectation. With a captivating and even mysterious storyline, many elements the slasher genre are embraced. But that’s what you’d expect from creatives of some of the best horror films. Not only do we get a killer lurking in the shadows, slowly killing each member of the group off one by one – but they’re all gay. Better yet, the fact that our leads are gay doesn’t actually matter. (After all, in mainstream horror films it’s often the gay guy who gets killed early on).

Now, “Hellbent” isn’t without a couple flaws. They really could have amped up the special effects and gore, but perhaps the oddest flaw is how much they held back on the gay factor. It’s definitely a gay film, buy unlike the slasher genre itself, sex is actually not a huge part of the storyline. Heck, it’s set in West Hollywood during a nighttime fetish Carnival party – and we all know what happens in West Hollywood during broad daylight! Perhaps they wanted to attract more of a mainstream audience? Additionally, the script and characters could have been a bit more interesting. However despite these few flaws, “Hellbent” is a great addition to the slasher genre and is definitely a good queer horror film to watch!