Nerdly » ‘Mauler’ VOD Review

18th Jun2025

‘Mauler’ VOD Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Kate Noel, Skyylar Perdomo, Sebastian Betancur, Sarah Siverson, Jayden Stith, Breck Cuddy, Tanya Champoux | Written and Directed by Terence Bernie Hines

There’s something charmingly throwback about Mauler, a slasher with indie sensibilities and a healthy dose of religious dread. Written and directed by Terence Bernie Hines, the film wears its horror influences proudly while attempting to carve out its own voice, sometimes literally. It’s not a game-changer, but for fans of grungy, low-budget horror that doesn’t pretend to be more than it is, Mauler hits enough satisfying notes to warrant the ride.

The setup is classic horror bait: five broke friends take on a viral dark web challenge that leads them into a supposedly haunted “murder house,” where they can win $25,000 by staying overnight. Of course, the house doesn’t just have a creepy backstory—it has a very real, very large, and very angry tenant. Enter the Mauler, a masked executioner of Old Testament morality with a sledgehammer and a vendetta against sinners.

From the outset, the film finds its footing in the dynamic between its central group. The cast—Kate Noel, Skyylar Perdomo, Sebastian Betancur, Sarah Siverson, and Jayden Stith—manage to sell the illusion of longstanding friendship with natural banter and a few genuinely heartfelt exchanges. It’s enough to make you care when the body count starts ticking up.

Skyylar Perdomo is a standout, giving her character a sharpness and humour that injects some energy into the quieter moments. And when the violence comes, it lands hard. Breck Cuddy’s titular Mauler is an imposing presence – silent, brutal, and shot in a way that emphasises his sheer size and menace. There’s a grim efficiency to the way the horror unfolds, especially in the second half.

Still, Mauler stumbles a bit on its way to the bloodbath. The pacing in the first act drags, bogged down by repetitive dialogue and one too many scenes of the group debating whether to enter the house. Some character beats—like a pregnancy subplot—feel underdeveloped and unnecessary, slowing the tension instead of raising it.

But once it kicks into gear, Hines shows a knack for suspenseful staging and eerie atmosphere. The sound design, dim lighting, and claustrophobic interiors all work together to keep things unsettling. While the film never fully transcends its genre, it has a few memorable sequences that suggest Hines has a solid eye for horror.

In the end, Mauler doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it knows how to spin it. With a compelling villain, committed performances, and flashes of stylistic flair, it’s a solid entry into the indie slasher canon. Flawed, yes—but fun in that old-school “watch it with friends and yell at the screen” kind of way.