The last thing the world needs is a Helstrom family reunion. We light that fuse, and God help us all.
Helstrom is a Urban Fantasy / Dark Fantasy Superhero Horror series that aired on Hulu and was created by Paul Zbyszewski (Day Break, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), based on the Marvel Comics characters Daimon Hellstrom (created by Roy Thomas & Gary Friedrich) and Satana (created by Thomas & John Romita Sr.). Outside the United States, the series was released via Disney+'s Star hub in many territories.
The series follows siblings Daimon (Tom Austen) and Ana (Sydney Lemmon) Helstrom, the children of an infamous serial killer who moonlight as hunters of human evil. Elizabeth Marvel also stars as Daimon and Ana's mother Victoria, who has been institutionalized for two decades.
Helstrom was intended to lead a block of horror-based series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Hulu called "Adventure Into Fear", alongside a Ghost Rider series (Gabriel Luna would have reprised his role of Robbie Reyes from the MCU show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and easter eggs to this are still present in Helstrom), but those plans fell through when Marvel Television was shut down in favor of Marvel Studios producing their own series for Disney+.
As such, Helstrom is the final live-action series produced by the shuttered division, and was declared separate from the MCU by both Zbyszewski
and Lemmon when it was released. As Zbyszewski left Marvel after completing work on the series, the show only comprises a single season, something that was officially confirmed when the show was formally cancelled roughly two months after its premiere.
Curiously, the series has absolutely no Marvel branding associated with it in any advertising, whereas the same was not true for any prior Marvel TV productions. According to Marvel, this was due to the show's "horror-based content". It's believed that the internal changes at Marvel also contributed to this decision.
The MCU itself would later premiere another horror (albeit with a lighter and more psychological approach) series: WandaVision, as well as a film with horror elements, WandaVision's follow-up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Preview: Teaser, Season 1 Trailer
Helstrom contains examples of:
- Adaptational Distillation: The series largely takes after the Hellstorm: Prince of Lies series from the 1990s, but blends elements from thorought pretty much the entire history of Daimon and (Sat)ana Helstrom. And some from the Ghost Rider: Spirits of Vengeance series (namely in "Caretaker" and "The Blood").
- Adaptational Heroism: Ana is a pretty complicated person in the show, but her comic self is fairly often a villain (if a Noble Demon type). That said, the theme of struggling with her inner demons is a recurring one.
- Adaptational Modesty: Both Daimon and Ana dress more conservatively than their comic selves. In the comics◊ Daimon was pretty much a Walking Shirtless Scene and Satana's comic self◊ is rather Stripperiffic. While Ana dresses more sensually in the show, they're both pretty conservative compared to their comic selves.
- Adaptation Name Change:
- The surname of the Helstrom family has been slightly modified to seem less sinister (in this case, removing one "l", turning "Hellstrom" to "Helstrom").
- "Satana" was also changed to the much less evil-sounding "Ana".
- And I Must Scream: People possessed by demons retain some awareness and memories of what happens after they're freed. If they're freed. Victoria, the human mother of Ana and Daimon possessed by Kthara, has a seriously bad case of this.
- Archnemesis Dad: Daimon and Ana's father was a serial killer who is responsible for the misery in their lives. He was also a very powerful demon.
- Badass Abnormal: Both Helstrom siblings are proficient fighters in addition to their supernatural powers.
- Batman Cold Open: Daimon and Ana both get one in the first episode; Daimon pulling a magic Scare 'Em Straight on a bratty kid pretending to be possessed, Ana taking down a billionaire serial killer.
- Bedlam House: Victoria is confined to St. Teresa's, a psychiatric hospital run by Dr. Louise Hastings, who also works with Daimon and the Vatican.
- Big Bad: Kthara, the demon possessing Victoria, is the most active antagonist and master of the demons the Helstrom siblings face. The siblings’ father, Marduk, is The Ghost and Greater-Scope Villain outside of flashbacks and the Sequel Hook, with his past actions having a huge impact on the backstories of a large majority of the cast. Not the least of which is that he's also the father of Kthara.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Daimon's and Ana's parents ... or at least the demons possessing them, are antagonistic toward each other as well as their children.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Helstroms are a very haunted bunch of trauma victims, be it by blood (Marduk, Victoria, Daimon and Ana Helstrom) or by adoption (The Caretaker and Louise Hastings).
- Bittersweet Ending: Following the general tone of the show, the ending is very bittersweet. The Helstrom family of Daimon, Ana and Victoria (plus Louise and Taker) get reunited and are on the path to be a happy family for once. On the other hand, Daimon's relationship with Gabriella is permanently ruined and she turns into a Knight Templar demon hunter after going through a ridiculous amount of emotional trauma. They fail at stopping Kthara's plan but the implication is they will raise her child form to not be evil. And then along comes Marduk Helstrom in the post-credits scene...
- Black Boss Lady: Dr. Louise Hastings.
- Black-and-Gray Morality: With an emphasis in "Horror", this Superhero Horror story features Always Chaotic Evil demons who can possess people almost like a virus, there is no way to permanently destroy them, the only people fighting them being a group of Knight Templars who's only method of Demon Slaying is putting their possessed hosts in comas and hoping for the best and two jaded, unstable half-demons that the former don't trust.
- Bluff the Imposter: Daimon throws what is supposedly holy water from the Vatican on the "possessed" little boy—then when the boy acts like he's "cured", he reveals that he got it out of the bathroom tap, and he can spot a try-hard Troperiffic con when he sees it.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: At first it seems like Yen might be working for the Keeper Demon willingly, but the longer he spends in its presence, the more unhinged he gets.
- Break the Cutie: Gabriella Rosetti is a kind young nun-in-training trying to help people. Things do not go well for her.
- Brother–Sister Team: Averted. While Daimon and Ana both have powers that could work in tandem, by the first episode, they haven't seen each other in years and Ana actively avoided Daimon, even when he reached out during holidays.
- Body Horror: When we finally do see a flesh-and-bone demon (as opposed to those that merely possess), it can open its ribcage to consume its victims. We also get a lot of:
- Facial Horror: as with the demon that likes to attack people, tearing their bodies apart before possessing them.
- Eye Scream: such as when the demon possessing Gabriella's priest uses telekineses to stab a nurse in the eye with a syringe.
- Catapult Nightmare: Ana suffers a number of these, usually related to grave dirt.
- Child by Rape: "Mother", the demon possessing Victoria, conceives a child this way: More specifically by possessing Gabriella and having her demonic son possess Daimon and then having sex between them.
- Christianity is Catholic: At least the only Christianity we see in the show is.
- Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Daimon and Ana are both known here by their given names, rather than Hellstrom or Satana like they are in the comics. Averted by the Caretaker, however, who is known by his alias from the comics.
- Darker and Edgier: This series is a more realistic and horror-centric take on the character than the comics, closer to the Netflix-MCU shows than the films. It's also darker than the previous Hulu Marvel series, Runaways (2017).
- Deadpan Snarker: Both Daimon and Ana. Especially Ana.
- Express Delivery: Gabriella, while possessed by Kthara gets pregnant and is ready for delivery the following day.
- Evil Sounds Deep: When the demon inside Victoria speaks, it's with a very deep, gravelly voice. When it's Victoria herself, it's with a much softer voice.
- Fighting from the Inside: The possessed are able to fight the demons with varying degrees of efficacy.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Kthara shows up in Victoria's head in the guise of someone it once possessed long in the past.
- Gender Flip: Gabriel Rosetti becomes Gabriella Rosetti.
- The Ghost: Daimon and Ana's father is only seen from behind or in shadows most of the time. Until he shows up for real.
- Goth Spirals: In the first trailer, Victoria is shown using blood to draw a red spiral in her cell, with the narration saying she was cursed for discovering forbidden knowledge.
- Headbutting Heroes: Ana and Daimon have a lot of trouble getting along. It turns into an actual fight between the two of them when she fights to save the keeper-controlled Yen from Daimon and Daimon fights to save their mother from the keeper controlling Yen.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Shows up a lot with the victims of Kthara and her son.
- Knight Templar: The Blood, a organization of fanatic demon hunters who see anything remotely related to demon as a problem.
- Not Wearing Tights: Neither of the Helstroms wear traditional costumes and stick to regular civvie clothes.
- Mark of the Beast: The first trailer shows that Daimon has a scar on his chest in the shape of a demonic symbol.
- Mistaken for Gay: In one episode, Yen’s boyfriend shows up at Ana’s business and interrogates Daimon and Ana about Yen’s odd working hours. He assumes that Yen is cheating on him with Daimon.
- Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Everybody is decked out in black clothes here as opposed to the comics's more favoured red coloring.
- Nature Versus Nurture: The Central Theme, discussing whether the demonic blood of Helstroms can supersede their human upbringing. Not helping their human upbringing was also pretty bad.
- Naughty Nun: Ana jokes that Gabriella looks more like one of these than an actual nun.
- No Name Given: The demon possessing Victoria is only referred to as "Mother", until a few episodes later when it's revealed she goes by Kthara.
- Not Wearing Tights: Neither Daimon nor Ana ever wear their more dramatic comic outfits, though Daimon gets close a couple of times (given his comic outfit can be described as "red pants and no shirt").
- Our Demons Are Different: Demons are incorporeal beings that can only interact with the mortal realm via Demonic Possession, whereupon they do everything they can to inflict as much suffering to its host and other humans as it can before its vessel burns out. While it is possible to exorcise demons from their bodies (though it is never stated how regular humans do this), all it does is send them back to whence they came where they eventually find their way back. It is left vague whether or not demons are Fallen Angels, human souls reborn as monsters, birthed as they are from the darkness or if they even share a singular origin, though they are capable of sexually reproducing through their hosts, their cambion children possessing the same Psychic Powers as their demonic parents.
- Parental Favoritism: Daimon is closer to their mother, while Ana was favored by their father. Unfortunately, given what their family is like, being the favorite is as bad as the opposite. (For one thing, being dear old dad's favorite meant he kidnapped Ana and brought her along to his murders.)
- Retirony: Caretaker and Louise talk about retiring to a little house on the beach. The next day she gets stabbed in the back with a poker and almost dies. Her liver is damaged, she loses a kidney... and the cancerous part of her lung.
- Sequel Hook: In the last scene of the show, the Helstrom patriarch returns to claim Kthara. This is unlikely to be followed up for
a number of reasons. - Serial-Killer Killer: Ana. The first episode has her lure a rich and reclusive serial killer to her auction house and then use her powers to kill him.
- Shout-Out:
- Like Renfrew and other servants of demons, Yen is compelled to eat a spider. And rats.
- Talking about the Express Delivery, Ana says it's "full Rosemary".
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The opening credits features a slow, mellow do-wop song over images that are really creepy. The music does get more fittingly creepy over the course of the credits.
- Take That!: Apparently at least one of the writers isn't a fan of Elon Musk.Daimon: What kind of person buys this shit?
Ana: The same kind of idiot who sends cars to space. - Vigilante Man: While Daimon uses his powers to exorcize demons, Ana uses her powers to kill "the worst of humanity."
- Villainous Incest: Demons don't seem to really care if they're related, as evidenced by Kthara and her demonic son copulating while possessing Gabriela and Daimon, respectively.
