hyped garbage

Awesome Movie

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Gay and lesbian cinema is relatively unadventurous. Aside from popular erotic films, prominent homosexual characters can generally only be found in dramatic or comedic films. To take a popular genre such as the horror movie and populate it with out and proud characters marks an otherwise clichéd film as notable.Before Hellbent (1994) came along only one director had been pushing the boundaries of acceptable sexual identity in genre movies. Under the Rapid Heart Pictures banner, David Decoteau has been churning out cheap, strongly homoerotic horror movies for years; notably the Brotherhood series made during the 00s. His movies feature casts of chiselled male model-types who take off their shirts a lot in between death scenes. Almost always with a girlfriend or prospective female love interest present, the films could be said to use monstrous themes to represent the demonisation of homosexuality. Wolves of Wall Street (2002) is a perfect example of this subtext in action.Unlike Decoteau's own slasher fare, such as 2001's Final Stab, Hellbent sets itself apart from that particular approach. While featuring it's share of handsome and muscular stars, Paul Etheredge-Ouzts' directorial debut avoids over-the-top erotica while being very frank about the sexuality of his protagonists. Hellbent is a straight slasher movie (pun intended) with the exception of scenes of man-on-man affection, restricted mainly to kissing. Hellbent is upfront but very restrained. It's a slasher movie where the characters just happen to be gay. Indeed some of the cast are straight themselves. This isn't a movie with an agenda beyond entertainment. Ageing producer Joseph Wolf has made a number of slasher movies, including Halloween (1978), and approached this project with the same perspective as all his others. He didn't care if the characters were gay, but I'm sure he thought it would be a novel selling point.Like all good slasher movies Hellbent draws you in with engaging characters, some decent plot development and good death scenes and received a broad UK release through TLA Releasing, specialists in indie and homosexual interest films. Hellbent had a lot of potential to crossover and could be found in Blockbuster amongst similar fare. I'm sure straight horror fans who might be deterred from seeing it after discovering it is gay would find much to enjoy. It's main flaw is that the mysterious, silent, mask wearing, wrestler-type antagonist is a thinly written villain. There is none of the complexity of a Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees or even Dr. Giggles (1992). Known only as the Devil, the sickle wielding psycho has a great presence but no depth. With a likable cast and a fun soundtrack of underground gay punk, Hellbent is 80 minutes of simple pleasure. A unique take on an overly familiar story. But just as Brokeback Mountain (2005) didn't really change anything in Hollywood, Hellbent didn't change the bias toward heterosexual protagonists in B-movies. Even DeCoteau's characters are still in the closet.

A hunky slab of beef is running around on Halloween killing cute young men who're having too much fun, and he's keeping their heads as trophies in this fast-moving horror flick that was surprisingly good.The lead character is a gay wanna-be-cop named Dylan who, despite his hunkiness, has a solid reason why he's not allowed to be a boy in blue (which I will not divulge here). He's got the needs for a surly hottie he sees outside a tattoo parlor and later during a Halloween party. But he and his friends are being stalked by said killer for not being nice to the dude in the park. And therein lies the suspense and horror.Yeah, you pretty-much know who's gonna die by the end of act 1. Yeah, some of the acting is merely so-so. But happily, Dylan Fergus, Andrew Levitas, Matt Phillips and Hank Harris fill their roles nicely (you actually believe these guys are roomies and friends) and make you care about their fates. And Bryan Kirkwood's surly-boy still manages to draw you in, even when he's more than a little threatening. Good jobs, guys.Paul Etheredge-Ouzts does a better job of writing the script -- the scene in the car en-route to the party was especially nice -- than he does directing. He's not bad, just not up to the level of everything else. And while the technical aspects are fine, the editing could have been tighter and the special effects a bit more special.But honestly, considering the junk that comes out for the gay community -- trash that's little more than an excuse to get pretty boys nekkid and in bed -- this is a welcome antidote. I wish I'd seen it in a theater packed with a bunch of screaming queens, because it was joyous cheesy fun. Hey...maybe this Halloween...?

"Hellbent" is a more than entertaining slasher with a new twist to the story.**SPOILERS**Out on Halloween night, Eddie Fitzgerald, (Dylan Fergus) warns his friends Toby Weatherton, (Matt Phillips) Joey, (Hank Harris) and Chaz, (Andrew Levitas) that a serial killer may be on the loose that is targeting homosexual men. Preparing for a night out at a party, they don't think much of the story as it will interfere with their partying at the big club later that night. Meeting up with Jake, (Bryan Kirkwood) at the club, they all indulge in their darkest fantasies and have a little fun in the process, which is welcomed by all in attendance. While they're out enjoying themselves, the killer starts to target them as well, putting them all at a dangerous position when they try to get away from his reign of terror.The Good News: This one here is actually not that bad when it really came down to it. The movie has all the boys, booze and bacchanalia one could want, instead of the usual T&A of the standard slasher flicks. The difference in this case is that the horny couple are both male. In a pitch-perfect homage to old school horror, the film opens on a hot and bothered stereotypical horny couple making out in their car in the park at night in a secluded spot. As the young men grapple and pant, we're shown a shadowy figure skulking ever closer. The figure emerges in the moonlight, showing us a glint of scythe, a Mephisto-style devil mask before he strikes a fatal, tryst-ending blow, decapitating them both and takes the heads as trophies. These types of scenes play off the style and tone really well, making it appear to fit in with the genre while also keeping up its difference point all the better. When it decides to go for the horror aspects, though, the results are just spectacular. In one standout moment, a couple of club-goers find a headless body slumped in a toilet cubicle, covered in blood, initially thinking it's an elaborate Halloween joke until the body twitches which sends them all into hysterics is quite inventive. Another fantastic scene has the killer off a victim on a crowded dance floor, stabbing them in the gut with a sickle before decapitating him as the strobe-lights work overtime overhead. That works extremely well in the context of a slasher flick set around the theatrics and artifice of a Halloween night carnival. It also helps that the scene comes off like a real set-piece rather than just shoe-horned in, and is pulled off spectacularly. Easily the best, though, is when one character is outlandishly saved by his glass eye stopping the killer's sickle piercing his brain. The sight of the blade touching the eye with the metallic clink plainly heard, the suspense set up to ensure a great site, and tense moment leading up to it are played off perfectly and make it a superb scene in every sense. In fact, the slashing and stalking are purely stand-out in every way, and are there to ensure that it gets enough points about it to make for an entertaining film. The unnamed and ostensibly motiveless murderer is appropriately dark, shadowy, merciless and perfunctory in his killing. There's also some memorable kills, mainly through the use of decapitations resulting in many nice splatter moments. Mixed together with a stupendous pace and some wonderful humor, this one manages to be really entertaining.The Bad News: This one here has a couple of flaws, though they aren't big and important. One is that the kills aren't all that graphic even though they are decapitations. It really should've used another style of death to help make an even bigger impression, but none of the kills are really as bloody as they could've been. The other problem with this is that there's nothing groundbreaking in the depiction of gay men behind closed doors or even out reveling in the wildness that is the West Hollywood Halloween Festival. That might have made this film a bit more interesting, instead of having it be just a different take on the tired old slasher clichés. Sure, we see some of the guys kissing but that's as far as anything sexual goes. If the film really wanted truly different, we would have seen more of what one sees in the typical slasher movie, the T&A and simulated sex, only in this film, it would have been male genitalia and ass with the simulated sex. This has plenty of opportunities to do so, and while those may not be for some out there based on it's very nature of it's themes, but these parts here are what really hold this one down.The Final Verdict: An absolutely enjoyable homosexual slasher, with enough about it to be enjoyed by those who enjoy that style of film while also making it easy for heterosexual ones to get something out of it as well. Recommended to both styles, while those who can't get past the themes and issues should heed caution.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and strong sexual themes

As a longtime slasher fan, I'm always looking forward to a new entry in one of my favorite sub-genres. When I first heard about this one, I was wary. Not because it was a gay slasher film, but because I was worried that the characters weren't going to be portrayed as real people, but rather caricatures of gay stereotypes. In order for a slasher film to succeed, you need to believe the victims... and thankfully, with Hellbent, I did.What I got in this film was a really solid slasher flick that was really fun from beginning to end, with beautiful cinematography, plentiful gore, and a very fun locale. While the killer has no direct motive, it works within the context of the story and the movie never gets bogged down with pacing problems.The characters, while an eclectic bunch, are all believable and keep the story moving along. While the occasional stereotype shows up, one gets the feeling that these are real people in a real situation, which is refreshing. The fact that the central characters are gay quits being a gimmick after the opening scene.Judging from other reviews here, it appears as though a lot of people didn't care for this film, but I really did have a good time with it. Its funny, gory, and entertaining - which is all I ever ask of my slasher movies. People wanting high cinema should look somewhere else... but if you want high cinema, you probably aren't a slasher fan anyways.