Hellbent

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Hellbent
Hellbent film poster
Directed by	Paul Etheredge-Ouzts
Produced by	Josh Silver Steven J. Wolfe Brad Warshaw (co-producer)
Written by	Paul Etheredge-Ouzts
Starring	Dylan Fergus Bryan Kirkwood Hank Harris Andrew Levitas Matt Phillips
Music by	Mike Shapiro
Cinematography	Mark Mervis
Editing by	Steve Dyson Claudia Finkle
Distributed by	Regent Releasing (US theatrical) here! Films (international)
Release date(s)	June 26, 2004
Running time	85 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
IMDb profile

Hellbent is a 2004 slasher film and queer horror film written and directed by Paul Etheredge-Ouzts. It is reportedly the first gay slasher film. Hellbent played the gay and lesbian film festival circuit throughout 2004 and 2005 before a limited theatrical release in September 2005.

Tagline: When the night belongs to the Devil, the party goes to Hell.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

It's the night before Halloween. A gay couple out on a date are making out in a car when a bare-chested killer in a devil mask suddenly appears and decapitates them with a sickle.

The next day, Halloween, finds Eddie (Dylan Fergus) at his job as a police technician talking with his police officer sister. He's asked by the police captain to distribute flyers about the murders in heavily gay-populated West Hollywood. He dresses up in his father's old police uniform for a Halloween costume, leaving his father's gun at home. While distributing the flyers he meets Jake (Bryan Kirkwood), a "bad boy" type who rides a motorcycle, in a tattoo shop.

Eddie meets up with his roommates, Chaz (Andrew Levitas), Joey (Hank Harris) and Tobey (Matt Phillips) and they head for the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval. Chaz is dressed as a cowboy, Joey's in leather and Tobey's done up in drag. Chaz insists they visit the scene of last night's murders and, as they walk through the woods, the devil-masked killer appears. They think he's cruising them and they taunt and moon him.

At the Carnaval, Eddie spots Jake going into a bar called the Meat Locker where punk rocker Nick Name is performing and his group goes in as well. Inside, Joey sees Jared, who he's had a crush on for weeks. Joey approaches him and his friends to offer his phone number but Jared's group dismisses him. Crestfallen, Joey goes to the restroom with Chaz while Eddie, Jake and Tobey head out for an arcade. Chaz consoles Joey in the restroom then goes to wait for him outside. Jared catches up with Joey in the restroom and apologizes for his friends and asks Joey to meet him for breakfast the next morning. They kiss and Jared leaves. A few moments later, the killer emerges from a stall and decapitates Joey, taking his head as a trophy.

Chaz meets back up with Eddie, Jake and Tobey, noting that he pointed Jared toward Joey and then left them alone. Eddie and Jake head back to the Meat Locker to find Joey. Chaz goes into another club to dance. There the killer catches up with him on the dance floor, slashing his torso and removing his head while the rest of the crowd dances on, oblivious.

Tobey, who's been getting drunker and more pissed off that no one's hitting on him while he's in drag, spots the killer, who's still carrying Joey and Chaz's heads in trick or treat bags. Ironically, Tobey pursues the killer, who also dismisses him. Tobey tosses his driver's license at the killer, who picks it up. When Tobey partially removes his drag, the killer returns and collects his head.

Eddie and Jake arrive back at the Meat Locker but it's been closed down following the discovery of Joey's body (although Eddie and Jake don't learn that it's Joey who's dead). Jake hops a fence to retrieve his motorcycle. Eddie goes after him but Jake's circled around and is back outside. Suddenly the killer appears behind Eddie and swings his sickle, but misses. Jake starts to scale the fence but the killer forces him back. Eddie runs and the killer follows. Eddie locks himself in a small enclosure. The killer strikes at him again and the tip of his blade scrapes Eddie's eye. Jake arrives with a cop and the killer takes off.

Eddie and Jake give their statements at police headquarters and Jake learns that Eddie's eye is artificial. They go back to Eddie's place and start having sex, although Jake won't let Eddie kiss him. Jake finds Tobey's license on the floor of Eddie's room with blood on it, but doesn't understand the significance. Jake uses Eddie's father's handcuffs to lock Eddie to his bed and goes to the bathroom in search of condoms. As he's returning, the killer attacks, stabbing him in the shoulder and leaving him for dead. Eddie hears the struggle and calls out for Jake, attracting the killer's attention. As the killer approaches and Eddie struggles with the cuffs, Jake appears behind the killer and hits him with a baseball bat. Eddie slips a hand out of the cuffs, tends to Jake's wound and heads for the living room to call an ambulance, but the killer revives and disables the phone. Eddie heads for the kitchen in search of a weapon. He finds a knife but also finds the heads of Joey, Chaz and Tobey. The killer attacks again. Eddie evades him and retreats to his bedroom, locking the door. As the killer chops at the door, Eddie retrieves his father's gun and some bullets. He gets Jake out onto the fire escape and loads the gun. The killer attacks Eddie yet again, this time sucking Eddie's artificial eye right out of his head and knocking him over a railing. With Eddie dangling from the fire escape the killer returns to attacking Jake. Eddie retrieves the gun and fires, inadvertantly hitting Jake. He fires again, this time hitting the killer square in the forehead. A downstairs neighbor who's heard the commotion calls the police and an ambulance. As they wait for help to arrive Jake at last kisses Eddie.

Jake is packed off to the hospital and Eddie promises to be there when he wakes up. Eddie's sister gloats over the fallen killer, but Eddie realizes that he's still alive. In the final moment, the killer opens his eyes and bares his teeth, disclosing that he still has Eddie's artificial eye clenched in his teeth.