A stunning cast makes it way to HELLBLAZERS a new feature length film brought to you by Tubi, Set in the late 1980s. The story takes place in the late 1980s, when a satanic cult is intent on unleashing hell on Earth. They conjure a demon to feed on the populous of a small southwestern town with the help of an ancient incantation.
Approximately two minutes of the film are devoted to the introduction credits, which showcase some evil-looking images dripped in red with esoteric symbols. These images signify what lies ahead.
Within a few seconds of the film’s opening, a long-haired Joshua portrayed by Billy Zane appears wearing a sacrificial robe and appearing exhausted and strung out. As Joshua continues to explain that the time has come, it is an eerie feeling. He reassures his disciples that they will finally quench their thirst and finally obtain what is rightfully theirs.
We learn the name of the town in HELLBLAZERS that is about to be engulfed in chaos. The desert-looking landscape is known as Hopevalley. In a quiet town where everyone knows each other and everyone smiles at each other, there are problems such as a plastic snowman being stolen or a racoon terrorizing a neighborhood. Small town life is like this. Nobody was prepared for the bloodshed that was about to take place.
The depiction of small-town life in HELLBLAZERS cannot be stressed enough, from the drunk sheriff to the mechanic who stops to visit him in his car while he takes a sip from his flask. Throughout the movie, this theme is prevalent. It is the very foundation of the story.
There is a lot of character development in this film; each character gets their minute on screen and gives you a taste of precisely what makes them unique. You feel connected to some of the characters in this movie. You may feel an even stronger connection to these characters if you come from a small town, given how they act and interact.
As another Horror-Christmas movie, Hellblazers occurs during the Christmas holidays. Also, the timeline is set in the 1980s, which gives it that great retro feel, which is very well depicted on screen.
It doesn’t take too long for the movie to start to set up the plot for the cult of satanic individuals trespassing on old man Bill’s property. When the sheriff asks about the individuals, he replies that I will share the information with you, but I can’t see them since they’re wearing hoods and since the sheriff is from a big city and not a small one, he realizes that there might be more going on here than just a tiny town skit.
The film continues on from here where the movie really starts up at around the 25 minute mark, this is where I’m going to leave you to watch the film for yourself, if I go any further I would end up spoiling the film. I really hope that you do check it out its a good time and can be enjoyed by any horror movie fan, even those who are not big horror fans will find that the movie is well rounded and made for a broad audience.
In the HELLBLAZERS, there are references to other horror movies; one scene, in particular, is when the sheriff is talking about how a rabid dog is trying to get into a car with a mother and her child; this is a reference to Stephen King’s Cujo. The scenes are comedic as the people in the office do not understand nor connect what the sheriff is saying to them. Later in the film, a man says, let’s get those Michael Myers wannabes followed up by whose Michael Myers. I laughed hard at that one.
The movie shows the good old fashioned sense that when faced with adversity a small town can come together in the face of anything. Even satanic cults.
The film has a runtime of 1 hour and 21 minutes, and is quite enjoyable you can watch it Friday, January 21st for free on Tubi.
HELLBLAZERS is written and directed by Justin Lee (“Badland,” “Final Kill”), the film is comprised of star studded cast Tony Todd (“Candyman”), Adrienne Barbeau (“Escape from New York”), Bruce Dern (“Nebraska”), John Kassir (“Tales from the Crypt”), Meg Foster (“They Live”), Edward Finlay (“Apache Junction”), Ed Morrone (“Final Kill”) and Billy Zane (“Titanic”).
