Before we get the upcoming Mortal Kombat remake, we are treated to this indie attempt at meshing mixed martial arts and horror. Sadly, the results here are not exactly exciting.

Katrina “HellKat” Bash is a mixed martial arts fighter whose career has gone downhill since losing her last match. Riding alongside a road, her car breaks down and she finds herself getting a ride with a mysterious driver. The driver reveals his nature towards her, knowing who she is and all. When she confronts him, the driver reveals he’s a demon and she shoots in him before escaping. After a trip to the train station, she is led to a house where she learns the shocking truth about her situation.

Katrina finds the safe house and goes there to stay. She finds herself confronted at every level by various people living there. That’s not the worst part. Katrina has learned she is in Hell and now her son’s soul is on the line. The driver, revealed to be the demon Jimmy, tells her of a tournament that she must compete in with the intention of saving her son. She must face off against both men and demons in the ring. Will Katrina find redemption within herself to save her son? Or will she fall to the depths of Hell and become stuck in the underworld forever?

As we draw near on Mortal Kombat, coming in April, we are treated to perhaps a possible precursor to mesh martial arts and horror. The story in this film of an MMA fighter forced to fight in Hell to save her son is a really good idea for a film. The only problem with this particular film? The execution is not too great. However, let’s start with the positives before we delve in the negatives.

Sarah T. Cohen makes the most of what she’s given as the titular HellKat, Katrina Bash. Losing her match. Once she enters this state of purgatory, she gets a chance to delve in the emotional content of the film, playing a fighter who is some ways not only intends to save her son, but perhaps for her, it’s a road to redemption. Ryan Davies’ Jimmy Scott, who starts off as the mysterious driver picking up HellKat after her car breaks down, serves as a mentor of sorts as he is the one who informs her about the tournament she must compete in and win in order to save her son. While these two delve out in some pretty good performances, they are the only good things about the film, because everything else is not so great.

For one, most of the film is shot in a dark or dimmed area, making it virtually impossible to see anything. This is a major hindrance, especially with the fight scenes. This is the major issue as this is an MMA film. While the fights do have a red-lighting to the scenes, they still are nothing spectacular. Despite a few good moves seen, the fight scenes are more lackluster, even if the concept of man and demon in the ring sounds like a good idea. In addition, the one responsible for the tournament himself goes way over the top and when you see another character get chainsawed to death and the victim looks more like they’re laughing than screaming, then you know this isn’t going to be pretty at all.

HellKat has a good idea in terms of its stories. Sadly, the execution is terrible due to too much dark lighting during its action and hindrance of seeing the performers showcase their emotions. It’s better to wait until April for Mortal Kombat.

WFG RATING: D

Uncork’d Entertainment presents a Proportions Productions film in association with The Game. Directors: Scott Jeffrey and Rebecca J. Matthews. Producers: Scott Jeffrey and Rebecca J. Matthews.   Writer: Michele Pacitto. Cinematography: Ben Collin. Editing: Rebecca J. Matthews.

Cast: Sarah T. Cohen, Ryan Davies, Serhat Metin, Adrian Bouchet, AJ Blackwell, Clive Cohen, Abi Casson Thompson, Arthur Boan, Ricardo Freitas, Harvey McDonald.