melvelvit-1 A gay "slasher"?? Well, what did you expect when West Hollywood's annual Halloween Carnival is the backdrop? HELLBENT is gay-themed "mainstream" horror (from the makers of HALLOWEEN and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) that doesn't pander to a homosexual demographic and "fun for the whole family" despite its R-rating, if you know what I mean. A serial killer who collects heads is interrupted by a group of friends on their way to a Halloween parade and he relentlessly tracks them down one by one over the course of the night...I was surprised to find myself actually caring who'd make it out alive but what's even more amazing is the potent blend of sex & death in the form of the supernatural (?) killer. Even behind his horned, three- quarter mask, "The Devil" is brutally handsome, the homo fatale embodiment of a demon lover one would surrender to willingly ("seasons don't fear the reaper -nor do the wind and the sun and the rain"). He also takes good head but be that as it may, this was wholesome entertainment compared to something like Peter de Rome's THE DESTROYING ANGEL.

Alexstam54 Hellbent is the first gay slasher movie and it's great fun. The guys look great, there's a cute love story, the killer looks extremely sexy and there are some really gory scenes. The characters are nicely developed before some of them are killed. So you really care a bit about them, and that's more than you can say of most horror movies. Evidently it follows the rules of the slasher movie (the ten little Indians-scenario, the killer-behind-the door, etc.), but still it works. Sometimes the characters act just a bit too stupid, but that's just a minor point. I think that the ratings are really much too low, it's just a good slasher with some genuine scary moments. A great movie for a Saturday night.

night_wng2000 Only due to the fact that I love slasher/serial kill movies, did I rate this as high as 3.I skipped past the opening credits. The next scene opens in a cop station. In the ensuing seconds, it shows the cop browsing data on various wanted suspects. I believe the intent was that we would assume he was continuously going forward through the database. If you slo-mo and pause, you'll note the details in several suspects' files, and you'll note one that describes a sex crime. These details are displayed several times, and although the details are the same, the suspect's picture is different LOL

Coventry Quite a lot of people around here are referring to "HellBent" as being a genuine throwback to the 80's horror sub genre of slashers, but it isn't one, really. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the whole point of slasher-movies the guessing along for the killer's identity and the search for a link between him/her and the people that got killed? Well, at least mostly that was the point, unless the culprit was Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th) or Michael Myers (Halloween) who just massacred teenagers because it was in their genes. With his debut "HellBent", writer/director Paul Etheredge-Ouzts entirely disregards this operating routine, but not necessarily for the better. The film profiles itself as the very first gay slasher movie (although that's debatable) so that's exactly what happens! Queer boys are butchered and that's it…period! The maniac is an athletic type of guy wearing a devil-outfit and his chest is perfectly waxed. He dwells around the places that the homosexual crowd of West Hollywood considers to be paradise, like the park, dark bathrooms in clubs and the annual Halloween parade. After murdering a couple of boys in their car, he focuses on a group of gay roommates that anxiously look forward to a Halloween night full of wild parties, kinky costumes and – of course – meaningless sex with handsome strangers. Whose is the face hiding behind the mask is anyone's guess, as the script doesn't attempt much to provide this handsome devil with motives for his truly sick – he chops off and collects his victims' heads – killing spree. Is he a homophobe gone crazy? Is he a homosexual himself but too scared to come out of the closet? Did Michael Jackson assault him? You're not meant to know and, frankly, it doesn't matter because "HellBent" delivers exactly what it promises: bloody murders and a wide variation of eccentric characters. The players are all stereotypical characters that always appear in slashers, only they're all gay this time – duh! The main star is a yummy "scream-queer" who's friendly and looking for true love, while his friends circle contains the typical macho, the sex-addict and the overly shy and emotionally vulnerable virgin. Oh well, I'm really not in the mood to nag or complain too much about the weaknesses in this film. It's short and funny, the soundtrack is excellent and every cast-member is a fresh-faced youngster that plays his role with a lot of enthusiasm. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend "HellBent" to any horror fan that isn't too shallow.PS (and SPOILER): Although "HellBent" is technically the first horror film with an all-gay cast, the formula of a homosexual murderer was used already once, namely in the long-forgotten and truly abysmal 80's flick "Hide and Go Shriek".