Hulu has two Marvel TV shows on the horizon, MODOK–which looks like Robot Chicken with Marvel villains–and Helstrom, a horror series landing on the service on October 16. During New York Comic-Con’s panel for Helstrom, the cast and crew discussed making this show feel different from other gothic shows on TV.
Showrunner Paul Zbyszewski spoke openly about putting a new spin on the exorcism trope, as the show follows an ethics professor exorcising demons when he has one of his own inside of him. “You know whenever you’re attacking something like this, you go ‘What do we bring to it that people haven’t seen before? What’s new? What’s different? What’s the thing you don’t expect?’ Zbyszewski explained. “And also, does that feel true to the characters and the story we’re trying to tell? So it’s kind of interesting that a demon is coming in as an exorcist to get rid of other demons, and that’s how I approached it.”
While Helstrom is a horror show, one of the very few times Marvel and the genre have crossed paths, Zbyszewski went on to say that this show does pay homage to past horror films as there are many Easter eggs throughout the show.” I have to give props to the director of our first episode Dana Reed, who was phenomenal. Terrific. Her approach coming at this was very traditional horror. There are shots in the first episode–as you’ve seen the scene of Damon coming up the stairs–the framing of that by Bernard Couture also our Director of photography. Just a master and artist paints the frame, Dana and Bernard really looked at what is classic [horror] and how do we mimic that style and tone and feel? And that was their approach, which I just love. They did fantastic job [and I] can’t give them enough props.”
You’ll be able to check out Helstrom for yourself on October 16 when all 10 episodes of the first season drop. For now, you can check out the first 10 minutes of Episode 1 above for the NYCC 2020 panel.
In GameSpot’s review of Helstrom–Episodes 1-5–Chris E. Hayner said, “Helstrom has the makings of a decent standalone piece. There’s nothing overtly bad about the show. The issue is that there’s also nothing remarkable about it. Nothing about it feels special, other than the fact that it’s simply something Marvel hasn’t tried before. It’s a middle-of-the-road entry into the horror space for Marvel–a space it may not visit again for a very long time.”
