Hellcat – Movie Review | Fantasia (4/5)

HELLCAT is a new survival horror-thriller that keeps you guessing. Also, it utilizes a single location expertly. Perhaps better than I’ve ever seen. Dakota Gorman is breathtaking in the lead. Screened as part of our Fantasia 2025 coverage. Read our full Hellcat movie review here!

HELLCAT is a survival horror-thriller that world premieres at Fantasia 2025. While this is one of the best genre film festivals in the world (in my opinion and experience), this year has been an exceptionally great experience.

With Hellcat, I didn’t know what to expect, but it delivered something out of the ordinary. With a runtime of 91 minutes, it even manages to keep a tight pace and deliver a very full story. One that surprised and amazed me. In other words, you’ll want to watch this movie!

Continue reading our Hellcat movie review below.

Every woman’s nightmare

Hellcat begins with a classic horror opening: A young woman, Lena (Dakota Gorman), wakes up in an unfamiliar place. She soon realizes that it’s a moving camper trailer, and everything from the constant movements to the sounds of everything shaking and shifting is confusing.

Also, she has a strong and painful wound on her left arm.

Then a voice comes booming in through a speaker. It’s the driver, and he’s warning her that she’s been infected with something and must get help within just one hour. He insists that he’s helping her, but he also very clearly has her trapped in this locked-up camper.

In every normal sense of the word, she has been kidnapped. Hellcat shows every woman’s nightmare, but Lena is the kind of woman who fights back. She goes over everything in the camper, but clearly, the driver has prepped this location for someone to be trapped.

For the record, I say “every woman”, though I’m sure not all women fear this. Except for fans of true crime, who will know it does happen. I don’t expect quite as many men to have this as an actual fear, but I could be wrong?!

What is real?!

Unsure what to believe, Lena recognizes that something is very wrong with her. It’s dreadfully painful when she attempts to touch the wound, and something is visibly coursing through her veins, heading towards her heart.

According to the driver, it must not reach her heart, so she has to stay calm to slow down the infection.

While staying almost entirely inside this camper, the story of Hellcat plays out. This story will keep you guessing as it progresses and escalates.

We do see the driver, and hear several voices as both the radio is on and phone calls take place. Also, we see Lena having flashbacks and experiences that seem to manifest and transform the camper. Is this all in her mind or part of the supposed infection?

You’ll have to watch Hellcat to find out. However, trust me, you’ll want to watch this movie, and it will deliver answers. Maybe not what you expect, but I enjoyed both the ride there and the ultimate conclusion of the story.

Dakota Gorman is the beating heart of Hellcat and has the most screentime, but I also have to acknowledge the rest of this cast and crew. Making a movie that plays out in a single location is never easy, and making a great movie in this way shows immense skill.

Plus, regardless of the location, I just loved the plot of Hellcat. It works its audience with its twists and turns as the survival horror escalates in many different ways.

Catch Hellcat at a film festival near you!

Brock Bodell is the writer and director of Hellcat, and while I don’t know when or where this movie will be out next, I highly recommend you check it out as soon as you can. This is an indie horror thriller that delivers on every level.

This is the feature film debut of Brock Bodell, and I feel very confident we’ll see more of his future films at the Fantasia International Film Festival, as well. His work clearly belongs at this film festival.

As of screening and reviewing Hellcat, we’ve only had Fantasia 2025 experiences that are at 4 out of 5 ratings. Usually, there are some hits and misses. In fact, a few years back, we started out with a few misses, and I started dreading the rest of the festivals. Then it got back on track.

Still, Hellcat is a creature that will stay with me longer than many other film festival movies. In the press material, there was a director’s statement that ended with the words “I made Hellcat for everyone who’s ever lost anyone, including themselves.” 

Let me just say: I both recognized and felt this while watching Hellcat. Thank you!

Hellcat is World Premiering at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 25, 2025.

Details

Director/Writer: Brock Bodell
Cast: Dakota Gorman, Todd Terry, Liz Atwater, Jordan Mullins, James Austin Johnson