‘Hellcat’ Movie Review [Fantasia 2025]: A Claustrophobic Ride Through the Unknown Hits a Dead End

Photo from Fantasia Film Festival

From Jeff Nelson

The single-location thriller is good for more than just an indie movie’s budget. It can ratchet up some serious tension, especially when it doesn’t let the audience in on the punchline. Dan Trachtenberg’s 10 Cloverfield Lane achieves this feat with marvelous success, walking an ambiguous line as to whether John Goodman’s character is genuine or not. Writer/director Brock Bodell’s feature debut, Hellcat, runs on a similar wavelength, but it only sometimes pulls it off.

In the middle of the night, Lena (Dakota Gorman) wakes up in an unfamiliar moving camper with no memory of how she ended up there. Her adrenaline pulls her from a groggy state when she realizes that she has a bandaged wound on her arm. Clive’s (Todd Terry) voice crackles through a hidden speaker in a mounted wolf’s head, informing her that she’s been infected. Understandably convinced that he kidnapped her, Lena hurriedly tries to find a way out, but every exit is locked shut. The situation grows more dire when Clive tells her that they must reach a doctor within the hour, or she’ll die.

The mysterious man’s vague story isn’t entirely convincing, but it’s hard to argue with the ominous darkness spider-webbing from her bandaged wound. He promises that his intentions are pure, but his actions don’t always reflect that, sending Lena further into panic attacks that only seem to worsen her infection. Did he poison her? Did something happen to her out in the woods? Bodell wants to keep you guessing, and he’s triumphant in the movie’s first half.

Hellcat isn’t all terror and paranoia. There is a tender side to it, too. Lena’s time in this moving quarantine cell forces her to face her greatest fears in the outside world. Now that she’s faced with potential death, her fractured relationship with her father in the wake of her mother’s death continues to haunt her. It leads to sentimental revelations that make us root harder for this protagonist. Andrew Duensing’s cinematography weaves fantasy and reality in a confined space that could be her salvation or her tomb.

This thriller works best before it reveals its cards. Once the cat is out of the bag, it doesn’t amount to much. The core emotional thread is tied up too quickly for an anti-climactic ending that doesn’t capitalize on the impressive momentum built in the film’s first half. Gorman grounds the movie as Lena through some of the story’s more ridiculous moments, including sudden character motivation changes that require a leap in logic.

Bodell’s feature debut has a compelling hook, but its rushed narrative and emotional beats lead to an unearned final act. While Lena is somewhat more developed, the supporting characters she meets along the way aren’t fleshed out enough to justify their arcs. Hellcat is a missed opportunity; its strong setup deflating into a payoff that doesn’t quite land.

Rating: 2.5/5

Hellcat played at Fantasia 2025 on July 25th.

Follow Jeff