Hellcat is one mighty impressive feature debut from Brock Bodell. A horror thriller that not only leaves you guessing, but has you firmly planted at the edge of your seat right until the credits.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, Lena (Dakota Gorman) is finally coming to. Trapped inside a trailer on the move, she’s woozy and unsure how she got there or how she got a mysterious wound on her arm. Over an intercom, the voice of a stranger named Clive tells Lena that she’s been infected and doesn’t have much time to get treatment, but can she trust her kidnapper?

Spoilers are the worst, and while I never reveal them in a review, in this case, even more care will be taken to ensure you learn nothing about HellCat other than the basic premise outlined in the synopsis. This film is perfect for the ‘going in blind’ crowd. Thanks for reading this review; just go watch the movie and then come back! Believe me, it is worth knowing as little as humanly possible; it worked a treat for my viewing.

If there is one thing that HellCat is going to do, it is keep you guessing. Brock Bodell takes us on quite the panic-ridden trip in his debut feature. Panic, isolation, and paranoia run rampant throughout the film, with some brilliant touches in the script that fully connect the audience with Lena.

For one, we know as much as she does about what has gotten her there and are only given the briefest of flashbacks (some of which will bring out a quick laugh to relieve the tension of the situation) in the opening act to even learn about Lena outside of the trailer.

As mentioned, Hellcat throws some twists and turns our way during its 91-minute runtime. For some films, it is because there is a struggle to tell a complete story, and they use their twists as a central point. That isn’t the case here; each of those moments builds on the last and makes perfect sense narratively. Due to Bodell’s script being as tight as can be, not a second of story is wasted, and it is marvellous.

One of the real stars of the film is Brian Shearon’s production design. That trailer, in which Lena is trapped, is a work of art. It feels fully lived in, and despite its short length, it feels far larger. With one of the best additions to inside a trailer I have ever seen (as soon as it appears, you will know what I am talking about), you come away fully appreciating the art of production design.

Cinematographer Andrew Duensing takes a tremendous amount of credit here with his work in Hellcat. He utilises every inch of that trailer to bring us as many interesting shots as possible. The camera is almost always tight on Lena so that trapped feeling never escapes us. We are stuck here with her. For example, we have quite a few shots of the camera pointing up at Lena, so we can see the roof of the trailer. We know how confined her situation is, and by barely letting us breathe with those tight angles, you can’t help but tense up.

Dakota Gorman is sensational here and carries the film on her shoulders as she plays the panic-stricken Lena. Thanks to her performance, you believe and approve of practically every move she makes during the film. This is a girl in a state of panic, yet she still has a strong head on her shoulders, driven by a desire to survive. With a performance like this, we should see her in more roles in the future, as her talent deserves it.

Supporting her performance is Terry Todd as our mysterious Clive; with just his voice, he conveys enough ambiguity about his intentions that you are never sure exactly what he is going to do. It’s a role that’s the exact opposite of the very physical and emotional one that Gorman plays, but it’s equally as effective. Together, we have two smashing performances that bring Bodell’s excellent script to life.

I could really go on and on about Hellcat; it’s such a welcome surprise of a film, but to talk further would be to spoil it. So please do the right thing and catch Hellcat at the soonest opportunity; trust me, it’s a great, albeit suffocating, thrill ride that knows precisely what it’s doing.

★★★★

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