Hellbender(2021)
2021 · John Adams & Zelda Adams & Toby Poser · 83 min
A teen and her mother live simply in a home in the woods, spending their time making rock music. A chance encounter with a fellow teen causes her to uncover a connection between her family and witchcraft, which causes a rift with her mother.
Horror
5.6145 votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
2/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How Hellbender scares
There's a dreamy, hypnotic quality to watching this one, like being pulled slowly into someone else's strange, secluded world. It moves at a wandering pace, more interested in mood, music, and the bond between mother and daughter than in shocking you outright. The horror creeps in through body changes and creeping unease rather than chases or scares, with occasional bursts of strange, unsettling imagery. It's a good pick if you like quiet, artsy horror that lingers in your head rather than one built for jumping in your seat.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Hellbender rates psychological 4/5, visceral 2/5, gore 2/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 2 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 45 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, dreamy build in an isolated setting that gradually tightens before erupting into a wild, intense final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5.
How scary is Hellbender?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Hellbender rates 2/5 — moderately scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be moderately gory and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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