Movie Review: ‘Hellcat’

by | Jul 25, 2025 | Featured Post, Movie Reviews, Movies | 0 comments


Greetings again from the darkness. Make sure you have your popcorn ready because there’s no warmup for this one. It starts quickly. Lena awakens in the back of a trailer that’s speeding down the road. She’s battered and disoriented. I’ll admit to not being familiar with writer-director Brock Bodell or lead actor Dakota Gorman prior to watching this, yet both left excellent impressions.

Gorman plays Lena, a character who experiences a wild emotional and physical ride – most of it in the back end of that trailer. Any real spoilers for this one would be inexcusable, so I’ll tread lightly. A jolted Lena regains her bearings and ends up communicating with the driver through a device hidden in a mounted wolf’s head. The driver, Clive (Todd Terry) tells her (more than once), “I’m a good man. An honest man. A hunter.” It’s like his mantra, and we later learn the origin.

Clive informs Lena that she’s been “infected”, and he’s her only hope of getting to the hospital in time for treatment. She experiences periodic flashes of memory, but can’t quite place where she was or what she was doing prior to waking up in the trailer. She just knows she’s pregnant and being held captive in a claustrophobic moving vehicle by an unseen driver.

The twists that occur expose Clive’s beliefs and the reason their destination is ‘Golly World’ (definitely different from Wally World of FAMILY VACATION fame). It does take most of the runtime for us to comprehend the reasons for his actions, as well as the identity of the other girl Lena discovers hidden away in the trailer. An encounter with a local law enforcement officer (Jordan Mullins) does little to improve Lena’s situation, but does act as a reminder that extremists are everywhere these days.
The radio talk show host (with listeners of a particular ilk) has the film’s best line … “This ain’t exactly NPR” … a statement all too relevant given the recent de-funding by the government. The evening’s full moon plays a role as Clive, the would-be hunter, pulls off one true shot. Dakota Gorman delivers an impressive physical and emotional performance, while filmmaker Brock Bodell shows a knack for twists and tension.

World Premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival on July 25th

David Ferguson
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