Hello everyone, Matthew back here with more of Streaming Originals. So far, we have checked out some films from Netflix and Shudder. Today, we get to take a look at another exclusive entry from Tubi. Tubi has been slowly building itself to be a successful competitor in the Streaming Wars. I mean this is a whole streaming service that is entirely free. The amount of content that is available is pretty astounding. It's a pretty nice way of standing out among Shudder and Netflix. Especially as they are fairly heavy handed in the Horror business, I mean my buddy Fred from Fred's Horror Corner has been recommending a lot of films that are available on this service. And a lot of them are in the Found Footage vein.
Today, I had the pleasure of checking out their original - Hellblazers. Hellblazers is an interesting small film. I have talked in the past about Indie Horror. Well, I can definitely say that Hellblazers is a part of Indie Horror. It's a film that has a small story and was made in such a fashion that I honestly could see it being just a bunch of friends getting together to make a film. And if that is the case, it's pretty awesome.
The story of Hellblazers focuses on a satanic cult wanting to unleash hell on earth. In order to ensure this happens, they are able to free a demon from hell and set it upon the small unexpecting town of Hope Valley. Immediately this is a solid set up and one that I wasn't sure where they were going to go next. When we are introduced to the town and the townspeople, I immediately began to think of Perfection from Tremors. It's a small group, but that's okay. If it had been overburdened with characters, I don't think the film would work as well as it does. The demon that the cult is able to summon? Umm, again I understand that there probably wasn't a large budget to work with - the demon looks okay. It looks a bit like something from DOOM, but it feels and looks practical. A practical effect is something that I will always appreciate so very much. In a lot of movies today, they tend to gravitate more towards CG-heavy designs and it will bring things down. So seeing practical is nice, especially with other portions of the effects as well.
As I mentioned before, this is a small story. It is something that moves pretty well. I never really found myself bored with the film and was able to stay engaged. Could there have been a little more to it? Absolutely. It feels like there were elements that could have been more developed. The character of Joe, the new town sheriff, felt a little light. There was definitely something that felt like the film was alluding to for him, but something in the follow through of it felt like it missed the mark. Actually now that I think about it, the characters overall in the film would have been nice to see a little more of. The cast in the film however delivers. Every one seems to be having a lot of fun with the film. It just furthered the feeling of this being a bunch of friends making a movie. It was also nice seeing some genre legends in this film with Tony Todd, Adrienne Barbeau, and Bruce Dern. Each of these three are awesome with what they have in the film. Bruce Dern absolutely steals the scenes that he's in. I would have liked a little more of Tony Todd, but the film kind of flips the script on what you would expect. Oh yeah, Billy Zane is also in the beginning of the film as the leader of the cult. He is fantastically over the top. It left me missing him after he left the film.
Overall, if you are looking for a fun time - check out Hellblazer's on Tubi. Is it a perfect film? No, but I honestly don't believe that there is such a thing as a perfect film. But I'd recommend this one. Go grab some popcorn and boot up Tubi.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
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