There is something glorious about watching movies with no expectations of big budgets or broad audience appeal. And when a movie touts Clifton Collins and Clancy Brown, I know roughly what I'm getting. Hellbenders more than met my expectations, and actually surprised me with how much I enjoyed it.
The concept alone is pretty neat and unique: exorcists that are so dedicated to slaying demons, they plan suicide as contingency to drag demons back to Hell. They even keep themselves bathed in sin to make sure their souls will go straight down.
As the movie unfolded, I was happy to find there was more story than just a group of debauched priests slaying demons. Ancient evil awakens, and the Hellbound Saints have to pool all their resources to defeat it.
Certainly, there was a level of cheesiness that sometimes detracts, but then there's just so much fun as the Saints keep a checklist and tally of their sins in order to make sure they would go straight to Hell.
I enjoyed the ultimate showdown, though it felt a little rushed, and too much because the script said so, not because the characters justified it. Doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
When I watched this, Hellbenders was on Amazon Prime. Seems like many of the best low-budget, unheard of movies are making their way to Amazon, and it certainly helps pass the time.
