Hellbilly Hollow

n a soundstage. Director Kevin Wayne plays Tickles, a burned and broken man-child who kills like he’s putting on a show. Kurt Deimer plays his big brother Bull, and Bull is the reason I’ll remember this one. Most slashers give you a monster. This one gives you a monster and the guy who cleans up after him. Deimer plays Bull as tired, loyal and quietly terrifying. He never raises his voice. He just looks at the mess his little brother made, sighs, and gets the shovel. There’s something sad in that relationship that kept pulling me back in, even when the script wandered. And it does wander. A crew of ghost-hunting YouTubers and a pack of drunk partiers show up the night before Halloween, and I had trouble keeping them straight. There’s also a voodoo subplot with Sandra Ellis Lafferty as a fortune teller, and Lafferty is great in it, but that thread needed more room than it gets. The middle section drags a bit while the movie sets up its ghost story. When Tickles gets to work, though, it moves. The kills are staged as carnival games, and the practical effects are better than they have any right to be at this budget. I won’t spoil the best one, but it involves a game you probably played as a kid and will never look at the same way again. Deimer also wrote eight original songs for the film, and Roy Mayorga of Ministry handles the score. The music gives the whole thing a grimy, roadhouse feel that sets it apart from the usual synth-heavy slasher soundtrack. Is it perfect? No. A couple of effects look a little rough and the ending asks for more emotion than the characters have earned. But it’s got heart, it’s got a real place behind it, and it’s got two killers I’d actually want to see again. Grab some friends, turn the lights off and give it a shot when it hits DVD on October 27.