Movie Review: HELLCAT

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: August 14th, 2026 / 02:25 AM

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Dakota Gorman, Todd Terry, Liz Atwater, Jordan Mullins, James Austin Johnson (voice)
Writer: Brock Bodell
Director: Brock Bodell
Distributor: Shudder
Release Date: August 14, 2026 (Shudder streaming)

HELLCAT opens with one of those lonely stretches of highway beloved by horror movies. A truck is pulling a trailer, and a man is yelling at a woman to “get back there,” with her screaming she won’t.

We learn in short order that the man is truck driver Clive (Todd Terry). The woman is Lena (Dakota Gorman). Clive abducted her earlier that night and stashed in his trailer.

Clive insists that he’s a good man – his late wife told him so – and he’s just trying to do what’s best for Lena and the general populace. He saw her “get bit,” and now he’s driving her to a specialist doctor.

Lena is sure Clive is insane, especially when he insinuates that the bite came from either an extraterrestrial or a werewolf. But something is wrong with Lena. It could just be a reaction to being terrified and carsick while pregnant. Then again, does Clive have any clue what he’s talking about, or what he’s doing?

It takes a little while to warm up to HELLCAT. Writer/director Brock Bodell starts off with us wondering where the movie wants to take us. For the first bit, it seems that we may be going somewhere we’ve often been before.

But then HELLCAT starts to assert its individuality. Clive has a whole lot of secrets, and Lena has a fierce will to get out of the trailer, which contains a few more crucial secrets. Factor in an influential radio host (voiced by James Austin Johnson), a mysterious young woman (Liz Atwater) and a possibly heroic/possibly menacing radio call-in listener (Jordan Mullins), and we’ve got the makings of something unpredictable and intriguing.

HELLCAT was clearly made on a tight budget, but this works in the movie’s favor, with few extraneous environments or shots. There is one element where money was spent – it’s equal parts unconvincing and adorable. The further we go, the more curious we become, and we get fairly comprehensive answers by the end.

Gorman is tough and sullen but also sympathetic, and Terry gives a persuasive, multifaceted performance.

HELLCAT’s ambitions outpace its achievements at times, but it’s gratifyingly idiosyncratic, creepy and slightly bonkers.

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