Wonder Wheel Productions, is a venture run by an exceptional filmmaking family. The company’s initial debut film, “The Deeper You Dig,” caught the attention of critics during the Fantasia Film Festival in 2019. Following on in 2021, Hellbender has once again seen audiences invested in the unique visuals and cinematic stamps of their continuing exploration of witchcraft and dark magic. The films from Wonder Wheel Productions exude an enchanting allure, employing experimental elements that compel cinephiles to unravel their profound messages about family and one’s lineage. While operating on a modest budget, their films possess a unique and indescribable quality that has personally kept me waiting for whatever they produce next.

Nature VS Nurture

In Hellbender, the score is a wonderful addition to the film’s narrative. Original music is used for the atmosphere here but also centers itself as part of the picture that makes up this family of two. Izzy and her mother live in a remote mountaintop location, far from the reach of other people. She has been kept in isolation her whole life. Her mother wants to keep Izzy safe because she has a rare illness that has forced her to be homeschooled. She has no friends and is forbidden from making any.

H6LLB6ND6R

At the age of 16, with her mother and Izzy rocking out on stage as the band H6LLB6ND6R to an audience of none, she yearns for more. Their punk rock music has the potential to captivate audiences far and wide. Izzy’s growing frustration is palpable, seeping out of her like the sacrificial blood in their rituals. Hellbender feels like a tale crafted from the same threads as movies such as Run or Flowers in the Attic.

Films that delve into the twisted worlds of mothers who isolate their children under the guise of a fictitious affliction. Yet, even in the early stages, hints emerge that Izzy and her mother are no ordinary family. These subtle details are easily dismissed, and blamed on other circumstances. Perhaps they are merely in tune with nature, adept at extracting what they need from the resources available to them.

Izzy meets a girl at the other end of the massive acreage they live on it’s easy to see why she would want to test her mother’s theories on whether being around other people is bad for her. They hang out and swim in a pool owned by someone out of town and Izzy sees that nothing bad happened even though she went against her mother’s wishes. There is a bunch of symbolic dream imagery used, this time to throw you off the scent of what is going on. What is really wrong with Izzy?

Hellbender is a Slow Burn Horror Movie

Hellbender is a slow-burn horror film that is sometimes frustrating in its pacing. But the payoff this time is constructed in a far more convincing way compared to their previous movie. The dialogue here lifts the film to a more interesting subject and delves into what happens when your bloodline taps into its true nature. Can you protect the ones you love from what they truly are? I’ve included a spoiler section with a quote from the film that explains exactly what a Hellbender is.

I give Hellbender

3.75 wolves in sheep’s clothing out of 5

Shudder will release the film, written and directed by Toby Poser, John Adams, and Zelda Adams. The film was released in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand in early 2022. Looking for Hell Hole, Mother of Movies has a review.

Mother of Movies score

The explanation for the Ending of the Hellbender Movie

Hellbender quotes, explanations & spoilers

What is a Hellbender?

“A cross between a witch, a demon and an apex predator. They live off the fear that pumps through human blood. It gives them exceptional power. They are still evolving.”
Quote from Hellbender

The Poem

The following poem narrated by Lizzie points out the pivotal point where she has discovered all the secrets her mother has kept from her. Here she points out that her power is much stronger than her mother’s and serves as a threat as well as a warning that she no longer wants to stifle her inner Hellbender.

“There was a wolf who longed to be a sheep.

So she cut her claws and cracked her teeth.

She buried deep the wolf beneath. And when she bore a cub, she raised it as a lamb.

She cut its claws and cracked its teeth. She buried deep the wolf beneath.

But when the lamb grew, so did her claws, so did her teeth and the wolf ate her mother that was just a sheep.”

The Ending

Embracing her true nature, Izzy knows her mother devoured the people who have turned up dead in the story. She now resents that her mother enjoyed all that a Hellbender is and renounces the protection she has over her. She throws her mother into hell so that she can enjoy her new powers.