(2021)
Directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser
Starring Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, Lulu Adams, John Adams, Judy Rosen, Rob Figueroa, Rinzin Thonden

Back in 2019, I stumbled upon a film on Prime called The Deeper You Dig (2019) and decided to take a chance on it. It was a very simple story about a young girl who is killed by a hit and run driver, that to hide his crime, hides the body. What he didn’t expect would be the dead girl haunting him. A simple tale but one that had such a small cast, pretty much three actors, really delivered. But when I found out that not only were the three main actors were a husband-wife-daughter team, but they also co-directed the film, co-wrote it, and did just about every other job on the production, I was even more impressed. So, I kept them on my radar. Two years later, they released Hellbender, which not only had all three of them returning, but also their other daughter, Lulu Adams.

The story is a very unique take on both folk horror and witchcraft, but pretty different than what we immediately think of when that sub-genre. It starts out with the character of Mother, played by Toby Poser, and Izzy, played by Zelda, who lives in a secluded house out in the woods. Mother is the one that has to run any errands because Zelda is apparently not well enough to be around other people. They spend their time creating their own music (with Toby and Zelda actually did for the film), eating plants for their food, and learning about nature. But there is something that Mother seems to be hiding, that Izzy is starting to discover. When she meets another young girl, Amber, played by Lulu Adams, this discovery happens even faster.

Folk horror tales are always interesting because it’s not like there are a set of rules that must be followed. So, when we see some very unique and different ideas shown, as we are here, it feels original but organic at the same time, and most of all, it really works.

Anybody interested in low budget filmmaking needs to not only see this film, but watch every single extra on this disc, as well as listening to the commentary by the whole Adams family. You’ll hear and learn just how they went about filming some incredible sequences, how they staged them, stole them, and created some incredible moments. Keep in mind that this family were the producers, composers, cinematographers, editors, costume designers, and the sound department. They literally can do it all. In the end, they give us one hell of a film.

This family of filmmakers continues to impress me. I haven’t loved everything they’ve done, but they have shown that everything they have done is what they want to do. Not trying to make a huge commercial hit but staying true to their roots of independent filmmakers. I know I will be watching for any and all of the projects they are involved in. Can’t say enough about it.

This release from Arrow gives you an amazing High-Definition (1080p) Blu-Ray presentation, along with the previously mentioned audio commentary by the family. There is a video essay called From the Forest She Rises by Jen Handorf, a featurette on the visual effects by VFX artist Trey Lindsay called Black Magic Tricks, some behind-the-scenes footage which is really cool, a short film by Zelda Adams called Fort Worden, and then 4 different music videos: 4 music videos: Hit and Run (2024), Drive (2021), Lovely (2021), and Black Sky (2020). Needless to say, there is plenty of goodies here besides the film itself, which just alone is worth the price!