Shudder has acquired streaming rights to Hellbender from directors Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, and John Adams (The Deeper You Dig), which is set to World Premiere at the upcoming Fantasia International Film Festival on Aug. 14.
The film follows 16-year-old Izzy (Zelda Adams), who leads an isolated life on a lonely mountaintop due to a rare sickness. Questioning her illness and starving for companionship, Izzy sneaks down the mountain where she befriends the brazen older girl Amber (Lulu Adams). Just as Izzy finally begins to feel happiness, a drinking game involving a live worm unleashes a new kind of insatiable hunger within her. Confused and scared, Izzy appeals to her mother for answers but the family’s secrets are as old and dark as the bloodline from which they’re born.
Here’s what Meagan Navarro had to say about the film in her editorial highlighting several films to watch at the ongoing Fantasia festival:
“I’ve had my eye on the Adams Family since I caught their film The Deeper You Dig at Fantastic Fest in 2019. The DIY family of filmmakers – comprised of John Adams, Toby Poser, and daughter Zelda – wrote, directed, and starred in an astonishingly polished film on a bare-bones budget. Now they’re back with Hellbender, a new supernatural film about “a lonely teenage girl who finds guidance in her family’s suppressed supernatural lineage.” The logline is a little vague, but judging from The Deeper You Dig, expect some fantastic dreamy nightmare imagery.”
Watch for release news as it comes in.