SHANNON’S DRIVE-IN: HELLBENT

Shannon finds a little movie called Hellbent, a punk rock take on the Faust story.

A punk musician in ‘80’s L.A. makes a deal with the devil in order to become a success.

Director: Richard Casey

Writer: Richard Casey

Stars: Phil Ward, David Marciano, Lyn Levand, Cheryl Slean

“I’m going straight to the heart of darkness,” says main character Lemmy (Phil Ward) midway through the 1989 movie Hellbent, which is an accurate description of the journeythis punk rock version of the Faust tale provides its audience.

The movie opens on a desert scene with a bunch of henchmen just chilling, looking broke and aimless, when Tanas (David Marciano) comes to them with a mission. They take off for L.A., and find Lemmy, the lead singer of a punk rock band, playing small venues and working to build success. Tanas, our smarmy, slimy devil figure is here for the cause and to offer him a bargain in exchange for his soul.

What follows is a wild series of scenes where Lemmy slowly descends into a music industry hell. Whenever Lemmy visits Tanas’s office/den of sin, there’s enough red lighting to rival any giallo, letting its audience know the film realizes exactly what it is and is not willing to be subtle about it. Of course, Tanas sits in front of a giant chess board table. He is the devil, after all!

Along the way, Lemmy develops a cough syrup addiction. His girlfriend Angel (Lyn Levand) tries to add some levity, but Lemmy has a weird kinky dream where she’s whipping him. If the whole thing sounds erratic, that’s because it is, and it’s super fun to watch what weird shit comes up next.

Meanwhile, Tanas’s henchmen murder a guy who owes Tanas money and they kidnap his baby. The man’s wife Sally (Cheryl Slean) glams herself up and goes looking for her baby, and worlds collide when she meets Lemmy.

The low budget is a help to this movie. Scenes are shot in rooms with the characters up close at times, adding to the intimacy of the story. At times it has the feel of a gritty documentary. It’s the DIY spirit of punk rock on display here, where everything feels slapdash but also works because it’s not trying to be anything other than what it is. There’s tons of music to set the mood (some of it bizarre, like the notes of “Day Tripper” being randomly played over a scene) and quotable lines (“Now I can hear with Van Gogh’s ear.”).

Director Richard Casey also made the strange experiment that is Horror House on Highway 5, as well as the video for Blue Oyster Cult’s “Burnin’ For You” (both this and Hellbent show Casey definitely knows how to establish a mood; the video is a more washed out version of the world Hellbent establishes).

Lead actor Phil Ward is also known for the movie Space Mutiny (featured on a fan favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode). He plays strung out punk rocker well, revealing in his weird lines, body movements, and cough syrup addiction. David Marciano has a long history of TV roles (anyone besides me remember the Canadian Mountie show Due South?). His version of the devil is part smarmy music industry exec, part crime boss, and also his charm at times outshines the smarm.

This is a great addition to anyone’s punk rock cinema library. It’s a bizarre descent into a world of grimy punk rock clubs, baby stealing, and blood squibs galore. Watch it with another Faustian music movie, the 1974 glam rock parable Phantom of the Paradise, and have yourself a devil of a time.

Shannon Grant is a writer, performer, adventurer, and horned cryptid living in the wilds of upstate New York. Her work can be found in many small press anthologies such as A Guide to Useless Sidekicks, Catskill Chaos, and The Lizzie Borden House Anthology. She is currently at work on a vampire novella. When not writing, she can be found haunting drive-in movie theaters, karaoke bars, and looking for ghosts in the woods.

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