Hellions (2015) Reviews

• Two-thirds of a great movie

  targosfan12016-10-31

  It's Halloween again and my thoughts about this film, which I saw at TIFF 2015, are as mixed as ever. Bruce McDonald's art-house take on Halloween horror is terrific until the frustrating non-ending. I was loving the eccentric direction, off-kilter cinematography, sympathetic performances, mysterious killer kids, end the whole dream-or-reality puzzle. But then... I suppose the short run time should be a hint this is an unfinished movie, but honestly what were the producers thinking, letting this be released? Why not sit down with the director, point out this glaring problem, and offer to scare up funds for some additional writing and shooting to finish a potentially worthy follow-up to his great Pontypool. All that said, I still can't recommend against watching it; you don't want to miss what there is, but be prepared to imagine a third act.

• Four for effort

  jonnytheshirt2015-10-14

  To be honest I can't really say I'd recommend Hellions. I found merit in it being quite different, having a decent cast and having some cool effects and not a bad and relatively original premise. The Hellions themselves had great potential and really looked quite cool. The movie eschewed normality for quite a surreal atmosphere and visual palette, there was also some cool original music which was creepy. It all got very confusing however between what was dream, reality, supernatural or whatever. By the end I didn't really care anymore as the narrative was lost due to me being confused generally. Maybe some horror fans may appreciate this movie, do not however watch if expecting a child it was quite graphic in some brief scenes.

• Visually and aurally arresting supernatural horror film

  Red-Barracuda2015-06-20

  Hellions is the latest film from Bruce McDonald who helmed Pontypool (2008), a film which showed that he was a director who was not afraid to approach old ideas in new ways. With Hellions, it could be said that he is adopting the same philosophy. Its story focuses on a teenage girl who lives in a town famed for its pumpkin crop. On Halloween night she discovers she is pregnant to her boyfriend and very soon finds herself home alone and terrorized by strange, costumed, demonic children who seem to be after her unborn child. To be honest just going by the synopsis you could be forgiven for thinking this is going to be no more than a routine horror outing with little to differentiate itself from the pack. But in practice it's a whole lot better than that. This is mainly on account of the stylised manner in which its story has been brought to the screen. Once our heroine is in the midst of her struggles, lots of colour filters are used to create a weird Halloween fantasy land which creates quite a nice off-kilter atmosphere. Not only that but this is one of the few recent horror films that actually makes an effort with its soundtrack too; the score by Todor Kobakov and Ian LeFeuvre is a consistently inventive, layered and spooky concoction. Rounding things off there is a strong central performance from Chloe Rose and decent support work from Robert Patrick. Content-wise, there's nothing especially new here but the manner in which it is brought to the screen shows considerable care and effort. There's quite a lot to appreciate in the visuals and soundtrack in particular, while the creepy kids are donned out in some imaginatively sinister costumes. This one successfully creates its own distinctive ambiance and that seems like a pretty good enough achievement to me.

• Horribad.

  montyputnam2016-02-04

  This movie sounded as though it would be, at most, a typical horror movie. I was very, very wrong here. Started off about normal (as normal as a Tarantino film at least) and can keep your interest for a bit... but... eventually it turns from a decently average flick to a 'holy crap acid trip OMG OMG OMG', for a lack of more descript terminology. There is no decipherable plot, and whatever deep thought the writer and director were attempting to invoke are lost on the idiocy of pig references and bath salts. I actually gained a headache, and I believe lost brain cells from watching this. Regardless of what 'good' reviews you will read, trust that a normal person is not going to enjoy this movie at all. Unless of course you are on acid.

• Too arty, way too few scares, a bit of a bore!

  johannes2000-12015-10-21

  The DVD-cover trumpeted: "A future Halloween classic", but I dare to doubt that very much. This movie follows in the footsteps of numerous Halloween-themed horror-flicks and many times I've seen it better and scarier (see "Trick 'r Treat" for instance). Here the premise is promising enough: on the verge of Halloween night a young girls finds out she's pregnant and devastated by the news she sits at home waiting for her boyfriend to share this shocking news, while being pestered by some trick-and-treating kids from (literally) hell. The first say half hour is quite convincing, the tension being built up and the kids are actually very creepy. Then unfortunately all kind of artsy elements take over: real happenings change to strange psychedelic occurrences, photographed in weird colors (it's Halloween night and supposedly dark outside but with every step out of the door we see unnatural light skies) and nerve-wrecking flashy images. To be honest: it all became a bit boring, while the scare-level dropped to zero. And on top of all this: it takes itself way too serious, we were not granted even one tiny laugh. So my advice: ignore this one and watch Trick 'r Treat (again)!!