There’s a difference between “haunting last words” and haunting last words. The new mystery-thriller, Hellmington, from Cineplex Pictures, The Coup Company and Vortex Pix explores the ladder. With her father’s parting words, a small town detective, Samantha Woodhouse, sets out on a journey to investigate the suspicious circumstances around his death. Soon, Samantha discovers that her father’s death is linked to a serious of suspicious murders, all starting with a young student’s death a decade earlier. A ballsy and brave private eye, Samantha dives into the deadly mystery that promises to give her answers in the darkest of places. A semi-slasher, a psychological nightmare and a cop-drama with devastating consequences, Hellmington is written and directed by Justin Hewitt-Drakulic and Alex Lee Williams. Available on VOD and DVD September 10th 2019 courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment, this movie stars Nicola Correia-Damude (“Shadowhunters”), Michael Ironside (Scanners, Total Recall), Yannick Bisson, Monica Parker, Gabe Grey, Allegra Fulton and Kyra Harper. Here’s my thoughts!
Hellmington is a great dark thriller for horror fans to sink their teeth into when they’re not looking for a bloodbath. It has a wonderful independent feel mixed with old school influences, and it contains an atmosphere where you’re always on the look out for something sinister to happen. At the same time, though, I don’t feel that Hellmington has as much bite, as much oomph as it promises based on synopsis and promo materials. I think viewers are going to go into their viewing expecting something like “The Following” and coming out of the experience, well, a little bored. Though Hellmington does ramp up the pace and plot devices towards the end of the flick, it’s hard to overhaul the entire experience after several letdowns and underwhelming outcomes. Hellmington could have been much, much darker and deeper, especially with some of the themes and psychological metaphors, but it never truly went “there.”
That’s really the only deterrent that it suffers from. It has great acting, especially from Nicola Correia-Damude, and I’m happy to finally have seen her in a more adult role. Hellmington is also a cop drama of sorts that will fit well into the Fall atmosphere when folks are looking to transition from Summer blockbusters to something a little scarier. Hellmington was produced by Michelle Aseltine; and finds cinematography by Michael Caterina and editing by Ken Simpson. As a production, this movie was pretty well done. I loved the way the production team capitalized on the use of shadows, set design, jump cuts and mesmerizing music. I also loved the way they used beautiful, scenic locations outside to their advantage. Hellmington may have dropped the ball in story content and truly thrilling elements, but it more than makes up for it with high quality performances and even bigger production quality. And for that, I can’t fail it.
Final Score: 6.5 out of 10.
