Stuck inside a moving trailer, a woman has to figure out how to escape and uncover the truth about her situation. Brock Bodell’s uneven but compelling enough film is now on Shudder.
A young woman, Lena, wakes up in an Airstream trailer. She doesn’t know how she got there. Uh oh. She’s confused, bloodied, and alone; she doesn’t know what to do. A voice comes over an unseen intercom, perhaps from the wolfhead looming (a fitting piece of set design). The raspy, older male voice says she’s ill with a weird disease, and he’s taking her to a hospital before she dies. That’s the premise of writer-director Brock Bodell’s Hellcat, now on Shudder.
At the core, it mostly works as a tight, single-location horror-thriller. Dakota Gorman is strong as Lena, often the only person in the scene, in above her head. In a situation where she is locked in a moving trailer, with fuzzy memory and understanding, she has to work out so much. Can she trust Todd Terry’s Clive? Is he telling the truth, or did he kidnap her? Bodell keeps the viewer on their toes with questioning. It’s too easy just to say “kidnapped,” but it’s a movie, and to keep a film moving, there has to be more, and he capably keeps it fresh with turns and details. Told in real time (mostly), Bodell bops along.
Bodell does a very good job of crafting tension and keeping it going as Lena searches the trailer, trying not only to find a way out and to safety but also to figure out just what is going on. Clive can see and hear some things, and it’s clear he’s not telling the whole truth (Bodell keeps Clive’s face hidden for a long time, adding to the uncertainty. But just where does it lie? Bodell and cinematographer Andrew Duensing keep it fresh and tight, with most of the action taking place at a single location. It never feels stale, finding new ways to ratchet. Claustrophobia sets in with dynamic lighting to set the tone and mood.
With such a start, how does one fully pay it off? That’s where Hellcat falters. After a slew of set-ups and Chekhov’s guns, aspects of the concept remain underexplored, leaving the audience hanging. The set-up has all the trappings of a “moving escape room.” But nothing in that ends comes to fruition. Lena makes attempts to get out, find knowledge, or get the upper hand, but most falter. Nearly all solutions and plot forward motion occur without any true action by the heroine. All too often Clive stops the truck at opportune times, allowing an action. He often straight up gives her the information she needs to take the next step. The escape room on wheels, and this is clearly the start so it’s not me grafting a different sort of movie on it, shifts to another type of story; recall she’s sick, but it feels like a half-developed afterthought. Since it’s deep in the movie, I can’t get into it, but it’s a solid concept even if the execution flags.
Hellcat has the first-feature feel. It’s good, entertaining, and compelling, but something doesn’t feel completely there. However, don’t take it as a negative; overall the film works, and I recommend checking it out if you’re interested. But it is Brock Bodell’s first feature direction, after a pair of shorts and some editing jobs. There are growing pains in getting all the pieces in place, and mostly in paying them off. The idea of the film is there, but stretched into issues in how to wrap it up. As is often the case, the talent is notable, and the next film will really work on a better, more complete level. And I look forward to it.
Hellcat, written and directed by Brock Bodell, worked rather well, even with stumbles in reaching a conclusion. Dakota Gorman does a bang-up job, giving a damned fine performance out of what’s given. The look gets a great sense of claustrophobia. It just doesn’t quite stick the landing. Interested? Check Hellcat out on Shudder. [Want more? Emilie’s review from Fantasia Festival last year]