hellions ( film )
hellions
by shannon straney from albany, n. y. - a documentary on the troy hellions roller derby team in troy .
browse through all our coverage of the 2015 sundance film festival by clicking here .
no animals or demons were harmed during the making of this film .
see all of our toronto international film festival coverage, on our tiff archive .
last year, aaron paul had a movie at sundance called hellion. i never saw it, but i assume hellions is the sequel because that’s the rules. when you pluralize the title, it’s the sequel in which there are even more hellions than the first film !
other intriguing vanguard selections include the canadian premiere of bruce mcdonald’s new horror film hellions, the body horror fantasy film evolution directed by lucile hadžihalilovic, and february from writer - director osgood perkins who is also the writer of midnight madness selection the girl in the photographs .
hellions
is art book horror, something to flip through but never truly eerie or scary .
hellions is a bigger halloween bust than the house that gives out dental floss to trick' r treaters .
reviewed online, washington d. c. , sept. 3, 2015. (in toronto film festival — vanguard; sundance film festival — park city at midnight .) running time: 82 min .
the film, with a screenplay by pascal trottier, stars chloe rose, robert patrick, rossif sutherland, rachel wilson, peter dacunha and luke bilyk. the film was produced by frank siracusa and paul lenart .
new this year is the festival' s expansion to troy with a screening at the arts center this friday night. among the films lined up for that screening: hellions, a documentary by shannon straney about the hellions of troy roller derby team .
however, there' s something to be said about a relatively small - scale picture whose creators embrace its limitations. the experimental dream sequences and hallucinations that make
hellions
a mcdonald movie also make the film a perfect, light
, go for it. this may sound like nostalgic hyperbole, but they really don' t make small - scale movies like
hellions
much any more. it' s not without its shortcomings, but
hellions
gets the job done .
will have its canadian premiere at the 40th anniversary of the toronto internation film festival in the fest’s vanguard section .
back in march we told you that ifc midnight acquired u. s. rights to pontypool director bruce mcdonald’s hellions (read our review), which made its world premiere in the “park city at midnight” section of the 2015 sundance film festival .
however you slice it, the eagle is hokum, but modern - day scots may get a kick out of the film' s depiction of their ancestors as mud - caked hellions. modern - day romans will have to settle for less .
culture crypt looks at a few fantasia film festival features shaping up to be hot topics among horror fans in 2018 .
hellions is scary and nails the halloween vibe. remember this title – when october 2016 rolls around you’ll want to give it a watch .
the blu - ray release of hellions was called a
must - add
to everybody' s october watch list by bloody disgusting .
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disappointingly hellions lacks substance, its visuals are too bland and the storytelling techniques are just as plain. by the time the climax came around and the end credits began to roll, i was left feeling resentfully empty as i was expecting much more from the film .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
ultimately hellions is a fraction of a film that goes absolutely nowhere. there are some solid visuals and mildly interesting plot points peppered throughout, but all are rendered meaningless thanks to mcdonald’s extremely heavy - handed use off genre iconography, and his exceedingly confusing and trippy execution .
hello, i' m one of the few people that enjoyed bruce mcdonald' s hellions... actually, i kind of loved it .
still, dora' s visions of pumpkin patch ghouls and trippy conversations with an alien - sounding interlocutor who keeps urging her to give
blood for baby
aren' t specific enough. this robs
hellions
of specificity, making the best parts of the film feel like an accomplished genre exercise for mcdonald, who has delayed his proposed sequel to brainy zombie film
pontypool
for years now .
culture crypt is the most reliable website for genre movie reviews and the best in popular culture, specializing in independent horror film entertainment .
that makes hellions certainly unsettling, if not terrifying. if halloween iii were more like hellions it could’ve worked. it delivers on the promise of kids terrorizing adults. dora is an older teenager, but the officer corman (robert patrick) comes to her aid and he’s not much help against them either .
closing out this year’s festival is a film that may just out - scream scream. the meta - horror comedy film the final girls boasts an all - star cast of young up - and - coming actors such as taissa farmiga, adam devine, alia shawkat, alexander ludwig, nina dobrev, and others. geddes said during his twitter teases that this was easily the most asked - for film this year .
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the hollywood reporter and indiewire criticized both the film and its direction. the reviewers felt that although hellions showed promise, it ultimately did not live up to its potential. the a. v. club named it # 3 on its list of 20 worst movies of 2015. at the same time, horror websites such as shock till you drop and bloody disgusting reviewed it favorably and both outlets praised the film for its imagery and cinematic inventiveness. urltoken also commended the film, calling it a
perfect, light midnight movie
that, despite its shortcomings ,
gets the job done
.
this year’s midnight madness programme will open with jeremy saulnier’s green room, screening with the previously announced short film the chickening. shown earlier this year to a warm reception at the cannes film festival, the film follows an indie punk band, who after stumbling across a horrifying act of violence, is held hostage in a backwoods club by a band of neo - nazis led by patrick stewart in what is surely an unorthodox role for him .
the realism in
hellion
is admirable, as are the actors' emotion performances. these wrenching qualities also make the film a tough sell .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
movie that should go great with light drinks, good company, and a warm blanket. if you' re lucky enough to see the film projected at
narratively speaking, hellions starts out with a pregnant teen - who the fuck cares this film has style. style everywhere, style piled atop style while style occasionally crawls out from underneath said stylepile only to crawl right back on top like some sort of insulating bee ball of style (you know, like how bees hibernate and shit) .
“the finale of 2016 save the waves film festival tour of california will be this saturday, 11 / 19, at the victoria theatre in the mission district of sf. our vip reception, catered by real good fish, will begin at 6pm and we’ll also have live music from local half moon bay hellions bar fight at 9pm. ”
the knickerbocker film festival returns this friday, april 18 to start week of screenings at locations in albany and troy. this year' s festival slate includes 12 films - - including fiction and documentaries - - from filmmakers both local and international. (the film lineup, with short blurbs, is after the jump. )
the psychic trauma of impending childbirth has proven fertile territory for horror films past, from the early david cronenberg chiller “the brood” to the extreme french horror film “inside, ” but bruce mcdonald’s “hellions” is an unpleasant muddle of the visceral and the abstract. though it carries the conceptual boldness of his ingenious 2008 zombie riff, “pontypool, ” [ … ]
its enchanting. the look of mcdonalds film, unlike much anything else, takes the wheel from its comparatively simple setup and pushes hellions into a dreamy ultra - style. just as dora is delivered the news of her pregnancy, shes told theres still time for options, and so the film externalizes her dilemma in bold, nightmarish form. the middle ground of halloween, in which the living and dead and supernatural co - exist, parallels her own between adulthood and adolescence, between keeping a baby or not .
don’t get me wrong, the film is not overtly bad at all. it has some very nasty moments which will leave audiences squirming in their seats and the camera work here is great. even the direction from mcdonald is reasonably sound, but my problem lies with how the film changes between the first and second act. once the demonic kids arrive the film is over - saturated with bleached tones. yes, this may promote an eerie atmosphere but the artful approach removes everything scary about it .
hellions is a movie starring chloe rose, rachel wilson, and rossif sutherland. a teenager must survive a halloween night from hell when malevolent trick - or - treaters come knocking at her door .
— in winter 1921, d. h. lawrence and his wife journeyed to sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in “sea and sardinia. ” now, mark cousins retraces lawrence’s footsteps. the film is conceived partly as a letter to lawrence — or “bert” — a detail typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy. (international premiere )
it isn’t just the who and the why of the diminutive demons that is unknown. everything about the film’s fiction is up in the air. this increasingly bizarre mystery marks an initially fascinating way for the film to foster suspense while the audience takes the same arc as dora in frantically finding out exactly what is happening to the tormented teen and her weird surrounding world .
candler gets strong performances from both her young cast and adult players. unfortunately, this gets overshadowed by the predictable plot and the distractingly shaky camera angles meant to give the film added grit .
dora escapes the house and hides in a shed outside. a disembodied voice compels dora to sleep and repeats “blood for baby, ” explaining that the hellions tormenting her have plans to kill dora and take her unwanted child .
“hellions” has a terrific style, though it uses that style to explore territory too abstract to qualify the halloween - set film as essential october 31st viewing alongside “trick' r treat, ” “halloween, ” or “halloween iii: season of the witch. ” yet when separated from the fluff of its disappointing denouement, there remains a disturbingly dark fairy tale in the movie' s core capable of leaving a lasting impression .
“hellions” keeps its hooks firmly embedded with atypical visuals hypnotizing in parallel to the tone. “hellions” may be the only horror movie choosing to filter its hue through a chromatic pink color instead of the usual giallo green, red, or deep blue most films use. there is probably some metaphoric meaning relating to the pregnancy plotline or the october sky’s blood moon overhead, but the look is so unique that it commands engagement simply for being a seldom seen style .
, in which a few people have probably their worst - ever halloween night when demonic little trick - or - treaters show up on their doorstep. the hellions trailer has some very odd halloween sights; have a look below .
it’s not a well kept secret that we are huge midnight madness fans. in fact, the late - night screenings at ryerson theatre are where most of the fondest memories we have of the last decade of tiff movie going. if general tiff audiences are regarded as some of the best among all international film festivals, then the midnight madness crowd are the pièce de résistance of film festival audiences .
“hellions takes place on halloween night in the town of waterford, the so - called pumpkin capital of the world. hidden among the trick - or - treaters, a group of masked demonic beings roam the town and come upon dora, a teenager home alone for the night. cut off from the outside world and under siege in her isolated home, dora will need to defend both her body and soul from the relentless evil beings known as hellions. ”
hellions gradually transitions into nightmare logic, where the rules of time and space don’t apply. the color shifts to sepia, we see kaleidoscope imagery, and dora ends up in a completely strange world for the climax. editing even changes the logic of continuity. the lack of logic is always the scariest part of nightmares anyway, that you can’t even count on basic physics to apply, so it’s a good approach to the film’s horror .
there’s no accurate way to predict on which side of the line any given person will stand once the cloud clears. the only prudent advice is to tell potential viewers of “hellions” to be ready for either possible outcome: admiration or aversion .
up next were sydney’s hellions, who put on a show, unlike anything i’ve seen before. confidently defiant of restrictive genre boundaries, hellions combined their signature sound with the excitement of a band so comfortable and so proud of the music they’ve worked to create. at times i wasn’t sure whether i was at a hardcore gig or a funk gig, which made their performance all the more entertaining, and it was clear that the crowd and band were feeding off the other’s energy .
in its best moments, hellions is interesting and perplexing and worth soaking in, in the sense that one would admire a hieronymus bosch - inspired painting. but without at least one foot on the ground, it doesn' t inspire fear .
i generally keep an eye on the film festival scene because it’s always where the best horror films premiere. as has long been the case for over a decade at this point, the indie scene is where it’s at when it comes to horror. anyway, last year i started hearing some buzz about “hellions. ” despite being the spookiest holiday by far, there aren’t nearly as many halloween - set horror films as there should be. so here comes a film about malevolent trick - or - treaters? and it’s directed by the guy who made “pontypool, ” an odd but fascinating canadian variation on the zombie concept from a few years back? sign me up! as sometimes happened, the review started to roll in and they were…
prepare for polarization. at one end of “pontypool” director bruce mcdonald’s “hellions” is a mound of moody madness and stylish scares. at the other sits a heap of baffling background and ambiguous artistry. whichever side sways most is what tips the scale determining who leaves frightened and who leaves frustrated .
“station to station” (director: doug aitken) — “station to station” is composed of 60 individual one - minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. this revolutionary feature - length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity .
the plot of hellions is very similar to that of an earlier short story
buckets
by f. paul wilson. in the story, an abortion doctor is visited and tormented by trick - or - treaters who are revealed to be the spirits of fetuses he has aborted throughout his career .
originally, walt disney boldly conceived of fantasia not as a single static film, but as a
new form of entertainment
with a repertoire that would be regularly updated and rereleased, new sequences replacing old ones and perhaps old favorites returning from time to time .
“hellions” (canada) (director: bruce mcdonald, screenwriter: pascal trottier) — teenage dora vogel must survive a halloween night from hell when malevolent trick - or - treaters come knocking at her door. cast: chloe rose, robert patrick, rossif sutherland, rachel wilson, peter dacunha, luke bilyk .
kevin bacon, keanu reeves and eli roth are among the bigger names aiming to generate buzz and raise gooseflesh in the park city at midnight sidebar at the 2015 sundance film festival, the lineup of which was announced today alongside those of the festival’s spotlight and new frontier sections .
dora makes it outside and shoots hellions on the lawn until she is overcome by a swarm of them. dora wakes restrained and surrounded in an open field, but mike comes to her rescue. in a dream state, mike and dora enter mike’s former house. mike presents his wife’s newborn child to dora and it mutates in the girl’s arms .
hellions starts off well enough thanks to rose. anyone could guess the reason she’s going to the clinic well before doctor henry (rossif sutherland) delivers the news, but rose has more than enough natural charisma to sell dora as a very likable lead with a mind of her own, sparking curiosity regarding how she’s going to deal with the scenario .
norayr kasper' s cinematography is interesting throughout as he sifts through one artfully framed shot after another then seguing into more aesthetically - pleasing territory with filters and lighting. the imagery, alone, smoothed out a lot of the more negative aspects of this film (but, not the exploding pumpkin patch - …
in the shadowy world of 2010' s unauthorized low - budget quasi - sequels to halloween iii that lean way heavy on the purples and pinks, hellions is totally like what bootleg halloween iv could have been if halloween iii had made so much money right out the gate that unaffiliated producers everywhere were like, ok! so what happens next? and came up with some crazy ideas whilst freebasing melted - down vhs copies of labyrinth all night until the fumes drove them from the office bathroom and / or caused them to pass out having the weirdest dreams and that dream would have been hellions and instead of sleeping they drove out to the nearest pumpkin farm in ontario the very next day and made this movie. nominally…
hellions is incredibly scary. mcdonald does a terrific job building the tension and suspense early on. i was on the edge of my seat just waiting for something terrible to happen to dora. i literally had to get up and turn some lights on because it freaked me out that bad. major kudos to mcdonald and crew for being able to accomplish that .
more so at these screenings than others, the directors, cast and crew of these films compliment and cheer on the rowdy and raucous film viewing mob, while we watch these action - packed, shocking and sometime horrific films. it’s an obscene celebration of art – but we wouldn’t have it any other way .
no one wants a horror movie ridden with cliche scares and plot points, but there is something to be said for one that can tap into familiar territory but deliver a fresh take on it. director bruce mcdonald certainly tries to do something along those lines with hellions, but the traditional halloween shenanigans are far more entertaining than the muddled surreal spin he puts on them .
the film also has a really cool style. about halfway through the film, when shit really begins to get real and pick up, the color filter shifts. i’m not sure it goes to full on sepia or something similar, but it sorts of takes the movie into this dream - like world. it’s a really nice touch and helps the movie start to mess with your mind. there is also one superb shot of dora running with the moon in the background with an orange sky. it’s beautiful and reminded me of the scene halloween iii: season of the witch with trick - or - treaters from around the world out and about .
before a blood moon turns the autumnal splendor of a small town to a fetal pink, “hellions” has the eerie quality of halloween night in an ’80s horror film, where suburban normalcy ends at dusk. dora (chloe rose) wiles away the afternoon in a pumpkin patch, smoking a joint with her boyfriend (luke bilyk), but the day takes a dramatic turn when her doctor (rossif sutherland) informs her that she’s four weeks pregnant. the news of this seemingly immaculate conception shocks dora enough to keep her inside the house while her mother (rachel wilson) and little brother (peter dacunha) go out trick - or - treating, but she doesn’t have much time to process it in peace .
the plot of this halloween - based canadian horror film makes little sense and plays out like a teenager' s disjointed pregnancy nightmare, but what it lacks in coherence it makes up for in production design and includes a few really eerie scenes and lots of genuinely creepy costumed kids. far from a classic, but well worth watching .
as a whole, hellions fails to match pontypool as it is clearly not of the same caliber. the plot is relatively simple and not too different from your average home invasion thriller. it tries to strive for originality by introducing a supernatural twist to the subgenre. regrettably the execution of the plot devices and the treacherous pacing of the story combined with bleached out visuals marred the experience .
“the nightmare” (director: rodney ascher) — a documentary - horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. they (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds .
even the abstract imagery of bach’s toccata and fugue in d minor, and the serene world of the candle - bearing pilgrims who accompany schubert’s ave maria, are not without power. the film comes to a halt only for an unnecessary intermission with a dancing animated
soundtrack ,
and perhaps musicologist deems taylor’s introductions with their studied casualness .
kevin bacon, keanu reeves and eli roth are among the bigger names aiming to generate buzz and raise gooseflesh in the park city at midnight sidebar at the 2015 sundance film festival, the lineup of which was announced today alongside those of the festival’s spotlight and new frontier sections. fresh off his turn in “john wick, ” reeves stars [ … ]
bruce mcdonald is best known for his previous film pontypool, a tale of a zombie apocalypse spread by the spoken word set within the confinement of a radio station. very creative and incredibly suspenseful, pontypool really knocked me for six and i loved every minute of it so imagine how excited i was to be sitting down to watch his follow up .
officer mike corman rescues dora. thinking they hear dr. henry’s screams, dora returns to the house with mike, but it turns out to be another hellion illusion. mike finds runes drawn on the wall that translate to harvest, birth, and sacrifice. upon confirming that dora is pregnant, mike explains that he confronted the hellions during a previous halloween blood moon when they came for his pregnant wife sherri .
my one complaint is the story isn’t completely coherent. i can’t tell you what was real or what was fake. ultimately i’m not even sure why these kiddie creatures want dora’s baby. there are some references to some history these creatures have with this small town, but nothing is really that clear. i think this actually makes me appreciate hellions even more. the story isn’t that tight or clear and yet i still loved this movie .
mixing elements of “ils” and “the strangers” with “inside” (review here) and “a nightmare on elm street, ” the strong start to “hellions” comes from an early uncertainty as to what type of thriller it even is. the setup teases touches of paranormal pregnancy, home invasion horror, and supernatural slasher in ways where the distinct lack of rules for how perception is played with creates a “stay on guard” sense of heightened alert and constant questions .
the surreal setting bears down hard and a nyah - nyah - nyah soundtrack of children’s voices grows gratingly cacophonous. by this point, plenty of people will mentally, and perhaps literally, head for the exit with understandable justification on their side. for anyone more overwhelmed by the force and feel of the film’s first half, imagery still burns strong, even with possibly illegitimate purpose .
opera oblivia, the band’s latest and most experimental release proved itself in a live setting: lotus eater and nightliner rhapsody transcended pop punk - esque vocal hooks and instrumentation to become colossal live tracks while closing song thresher rounded out hellions ’ performance with a bold assertion of their performative creativity and energy. special mention to drummer anthony caruso, who struck every single part of his kit with guts from start to finish and didn’t once miss a beat .
pint - sized boogeymen spoil halloween in a big way in hellions, a hard - sell horror flick about the unthinkability of teen pregnancy. bruce mcdonald' s latest is a genre - freak - only affair that even at 81 minutes feels like a joke that takes much too long reaching its punch line; though horror fests may bite, commercial prospects are slim despite the fanboy - friendly presence of robert patrick as a grizzled small - town cop .
“the tribe” (ukraine) (director and screenwriter: myroslav slaboshpytskiy) — set at a ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never - before - seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. cast: grigoriy fesenko, yana novikova, rosa babiy, alexander dsiadevich .
hellions stars chloe rose, robert patrick and rachel wilson and follows dora (rose), a rebellious teenager who finds out that she is pregnant. wanting to avoid all sense of responsibility she decides to celebrate halloween by going out to a party. so, after dressing up in her angel costume, she eagerly awaits the arrival of her boyfriend until a malevolent group of monstrous trick - or - treaters come knocking at her door with the intention of taking her unborn child .
that what they' re watching isn' t strictly objective reality. dora' s body is no longer her own, making the home - invasion analogy a blunt but potent metaphor for her feelings of powerlessness. other horrors - of - new - mom - dom analogies are effectively used throughout the film, particularly womb - like jack - o' - lanterns, and raw chicken eggs splattering on translucent window panes .
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thankfully redemption can be found in the performances delivered by chloe rose and robert patrick. chloe did a wonderful job in leading the film and went the mile to make her performance wholly believable. patrick, known to most as the relentless t - 1000, plays the town sheriff who comes to her aid. bringing a sense of mystery to his character, patrick is very likable in the role and offers adequate support to rose without overshadowing her .
soon, the trick - or - treater announcing doorbells turn sinister. the film is like one of those inherently creepy images of halloween in the 1920s come - to - life. small, childlike forms, draped in dresses and overalls, and adorned with unsettling masks locked in benevolent expression, terrorize dora. they whisper in her head. they want her baby. these demonic little things invade her home and force this angel out into the red night .
the vanguard programme is often filled with unusual, challenging, and experimental films that push the boundaries of what you typically see on the big screen. it can be a hit - or - miss section to choose from. this year’s crop of films continues that mandate. one that seems to be grabbing attention early on is the south korean film collective invention. in what promises to be a humorous satire, a mutant fish - man becomes a national celebrity .
i love love love movies that take place on or around halloween. most horror fans probably feel the same way, but it’s my favorite holiday and because of that there’s a special joy i get when a movie uses halloween as a setting. seeing the costumes and the decorations and others celebrating a day i love is a real treat. no matter how many movies i’ve seen that take place on halloween, i’m constantly looking for new ones to add to the october rotation. i am very happy to say that hellions absolutely belongs on everyone’s mandatory october watch list .
( newly available on blu - ray / dvd) rather than a static motion picture, fantasia was originally conceived as a repertoire, a selection of presentations that over time could be augmented by new pieces while old ones were retired, like an orchestra rotating its concert lineup … ten years ago, amid the wreckage at the end of the 1990s disney renaissance, the disney studio marked fantasia ’s 60th anniversary with fantasia 2000, a film intended to honor in a way the original repertory conception of fantasia .
“things of the aimless wanderer” (rwanda - u. k .) (director and screenwriter: kivu ruhorahoza) — a white man meets a black girl, but then she disappears. the white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. the film concerns the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and westerners, as well as paranoia, mistrust and misunderstandings. cast: justin mullikin, grace nikuze, ramadhan bizimana, eliane umuhire, wesley ruzibiza, matt ray brown .
anyway, what an ugly - looking movie! the majority of it was filmed (that is, filtered to death later) in a candy - ish lavender tint, for no reason other than that the action takes place at night and we wouldn' t be able to otherwise see anything. the onscreen violence is filmed like billions of other action scenes you' ve seen on television since the arrival of hd digital film (that annoying staccato frame rate thing where it looks like it' s being shown through a hand - cranked projector) .
the set - up for
hellions
is blessedly simple: dora (chloe rose), a typically moody high school senior, discovers she' s four weeks pregnant on halloween. dora is unsure of how to broach the subject with chops - busting boyfriend jace (luke bilyk) and approachable - but - overbearing mom kate (rachel wilson). in fact, dora can barely find the words to talk to sensitive gynecologist dr. henry (rossif sutherland). but dora doesn' t have to wonder what she' s going to do for long because she' s soon confronted with bigger problems: pint - sized, costumer - wearing kids who start by egging dora' s house, then destroy property and anyone who gets in their way .
ilium, new york
by patrick stephenson from albany, n. y. - a post - industrial love story ,
ilium, new york
is a day in the life of a fictional rust - belt town inspired by kurt vonnegut' s
player piano
. the work also functions as an origin story of
the rags
- invented in 1970' s chicago by dan giesler, uncle of the filmmaker. with pocket lint for a budget and a maximum crew of two, the film was shot over three winters in upstate new york. the next project ,
sacred miracle cave
, will serve as the second installment of a planned trilogy .
striking images abound in almost every sequence. take the brilliantly rendered dancing flowers and fairies of tchaikovsky’s nutcracker suite (the
chinese dance
movement especially, with its solemn, broad - hatted coolie mushrooms bowing gravely to one another, made an indelible impact on me the first time i saw the film as an adult; and the joyously whirling tall - hatted cossack thistles and swirling - skirted orchids in the
russian dance
are almost as memorable). or the majestic winged horses and flirting centaurs and centaurettes in beethoven’s pastoral symphony. or the great stegosaurus - vs - tyrannosaur battle of stravinsky’s the rite of spring (quaint - looking when compared with dinosaur ’s computer animation, but far stronger emotionally) .
this was another film from frightfest that i had missed and know i know i made the right decision to skip it. there' s some potential here for a halloween set horror with demon' s disguised as trick or treating children but on the whole it' s a bit of a mess. chloe rose is a 17 year old who learns from a doctor, on halloween that she' s pregnant. she returns home to an empty house and is soon being harassed by some young masked trick or treater' s. to start with it could be just a prank but things take a turn for the violent when it appears they are after her unborn child. there' s plenty of style and some nice imagery on…
the lack of rules regarding the trick - or - treaters, their goals and their realm is also extremely problematic. based on the look of the film, you’d think that dora is the one who’s trapped there, but apparently other townsfolk can traipse in as well. at one point, doctor henry gets caught up in the madness and then so does a painfully underdeveloped town cop played by robert patrick. neither add much to the narrative or the mythology. they’re primarily there so that dora can get her hands on a shotgun and so that we can get some additional carnage. they’re fleeting thrills that add nothing to the big picture. their screen time would have been much better spent focusing on dora’s efforts to figure out what’s happening and how to beat it .
what mcdonald and trottier don' t do is establish dora' s baby - phobia as a symptom of her character and not her age. that' s admittedly a challenge given the brief time we get to know dora. but rose, clad in a basic halo - and - wings angel costume for halloween, seems to represent a type, not an individual. we arguably don' t need to know much about dora, but there isn' t much in the film about her dreams that don' t make her seem like a personality - less cypher. she' s supposed to be average, and mcdonald refreshingly doesn' t stigmatize her teenage pregnancy. in fact, he goes out of his way to show that doctor henry is caring, and that both kate and jace are friendly enough .
released in 1940, fantasia was a critical and popular failure in its own day (roger ebert blames a war - related shortage of whimsical spirit); but with the passage of time it has gradually been completely vindicated. endorsed in the 1950s by high - minded educators and culture critics for its popularization of classical music (as well as the
science
and
culture
conceits of the rite of spring sequence’s primeval history and the pastoral ’s use of greco - roman mythology); then embraced by the 1960s counterculture for its dreamlike, nonlinear imagery; and ultimately hailed by virtually all film critics for its undeniably glorious, groundbreaking, visionary animation, fantasia has taken its place as one of the unquestioned all - time great animated films, indeed, one of the all - time great films, period .
a bunch of little hellions show up at a pregnant teenager' s house on halloween and then expect me to sift through subtext for about 70 - fucking - minutes and maybe i wouldn' t have been so annoyed if the movie didn' t look like absolute shit, i' m sure the lousy performances didn' t help either. for a majority of the running time i was mostly bored & annoyed because i didn' t give a shit about what was happening on the screen and once the ending rolled around, instead of a redeeming twist or payoff, i was just sorta like
huh? that' s it ?
i had my notebook in front of me and when i wasn' t scribbling
this is kinda stupid ,
or at the bottom of the page in all - capital lettering
so, so stupid ,
i was doodling little ghosts and pumpkins and skeletons, because i was that disengaged .
with a powerful performance by aaron paul and very believable teenagers played by the whole cast ,
hellion
is a deep and meaningful story that often fails to connect when it needs to, but other times when it does, it does so with vigorous pride. after the death of his wife, hollis (aaron paul) must deal with his teenage son getting in trouble with the law and dragging his younger son into that trouble, all while dealing with a depressing drinking problem. there are many themes explored throughout this film, but it never seems lie enough, and i normally enjoy open endings to great films, so that it keeps me guessing, but this felt a little too unfinished for my liking .
hellion
is a great story, told very well, but it is not without it' s faults. aaron paul has a bright career ahead of him, and i cannot wait to see what he does next .
after starting the holiday relaxing with her boyfriend and a joint in a pumpkin patch, things are about to go very badly for dora (chloe rose). first a routine visit to her doctor reveals that she' s pregnant. then, after her mom and brother have left the house for trick - or - treating, the gates of hell open up. or something .
the bad vibes start off promisingly, as a couple of kids with exceptionally creepy costumes come to the door for candy, then keep returning for reasons dora doesn' t understand. but rather than engage in slow - build horror, pascal trottier' s screenplay flips the switch into poultergeist y chaos: everything turns pale pink, the house fills with savage winds, and voices from nowhere whisper menacing things. sadly, the pink tint remains even after the winds cease — inspiring visual fatigue that overwhelms some strong costume design and visual fx work .
cutaways to spinning clocks and the like inspire us to wonder how much of this is in chloe' s head. those signals continue even after her phone calls for help lead to visits from her doctor and patrick' s character, who seems to have some experience with baby - obsessed halloween gremlins. unconvinced that any of this is actually happening, we might be excused for having a hard time caring about the violent action, but most viewers will at least stick around in hopes of an intelligible explanation in the end. they' ll be disappointed .
). chloe rose stars as dora, your fairly typical 17 - year - old. she dresses in a lot of black, in a fashion i suppose kids today would say is goth. i wouldn’t say it’s goth, but she has that hot topic look. there’s actually a great scene with her early on in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. its halloween day and a little girl in a halloween costume is waiting next to her. dora compliments the girl’s costume and then the little girl says, “i like your costume as well. ” puzzled, dora informs the girl that she’s not wearing a costume. this was cute, funny scene, in a movie that is otherwise quite dark .
once dora sees the doctor (rossif sutherland) she learns that she’s pregnant. she’s completely stunned by the news. she can’t believe it. there’s no way she could possibly be pregnant. she’s only had sex with her boyfriend jace (luke bilyk) once. but hey, once is all it takes !
back at home her little brother remi (peter dacunha) is getting ready to head out for an exciting night of trick - or - treating with their mother (rachel wilson). dora is supposed to go to a halloween party but given her recent pregnancy development she doesn’t much feel like partying. she decides to stay home but changes her mind after he mother convinces her to enjoy her youth .
dora gets dressed, calls up her boyfriend and waits for him to arrive. as she’s waiting a couple of trick - or - treaters knock on the door. these kids have incredibly creepy, old timey costumes. these are like the type of costumes you see in old halloween pictures from the 1930’s. one kid is wearing a metal bucket on his head and the other has a canvas, scarecrow - like sack. these little creeps have no manners as they refuse to say trick - or - treat, but dora still gives them candy .
some more times passes. dora’s boyfriend never shows up, so she calls repeatedly but gets nothing. the trick - or - treaters come back and things begin to get really weird. these little freaks want dora, and more specifically want the baby in her tummy and they’ll do anything to get it. the movie then becomes a battle between dora and these freaky kids .
eric kohn and anne thompson discuss their favorite films of the year so far. they also debate several new releases and share some streaming recommendations .
in an episode dedicated to the show within the show, “glow” illustrates its grand capacity for storytelling, and the very good tv podcast breaks down how .
rules weren’t meant to be broken when it comes to tv episode lengths, but these 10 examples — introduced on the very good tv podcast — are clear exceptions .
after studying under cinematographer ed lachman, shevaun mizrahi forged her own unique filmmaking path with its own set of rules .
the actress and director both love the genre, but as they told indiewire, they also knew it needed to be retrofitted to tell the true story of catherine weldon and sitting bull .
lane and schoenbrun discuss how her interest in morgellons disease patients (“the pain of others”) and his exploration of the slenderman myth (“a self - induced hallucination”) led them to make archival films from youtubes .
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him. riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you. …
roger ebert' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th, 1994, being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
roger ebert was born on this day in 1942, and died a little over five years ago. i owe a good part of my success…
a look back at robert zemeckis' half - animated classic, who framed roger rabbit, on its 30 - year anniversary .
a tribute to the late tab hunter, a gay matinee idol and hollywood trailblazer .
mcdonald and screenwriter pascal trottier frequently suggest that the events that viewers are watching unfold could conceivably be all in dora' s head. their commitment to dora' s wracked point - of - view is selective, but they do often remind viewers—through bath salt and stress - induced dream sequences
an interview with terry gilliam, director of
the man who killed don quixote .
the ebert club is our hand - picked selection of content for ebert fans. you will receive a weekly newsletter full of movie - related tidbits, articles, trailers, even the occasional streamable movie. club members also get access to our members - only section on urltoken
there’s some real potential for comedy in the notion that so many of us these days have more virtual friends than “hang out at a bar” / “stand up for me at my wedding” friends; and there’s a solid satire that could be made about a black man who hires himself out to be a cool buddy to dorky white dudes. but the wedding ringer does nothing with either of these ideas. even though director and co - writer jeremy garelick has polished comic actors kevin hart and josh gad plugging away gamely, he shies away from his own darkly funny premise, and instead loads up on kooky supporting players, broad slapstick, and joke after joke about how male friendship is kinda icky—and possibly gay. after coming up with a clever (ish) title, garelick apparently went into cruise control. isn’t there some fine that can be levied against filmmakers who waste a good premise? [ noel murray ]
“reboot” has been a depressing and meaningless buzzword for a while now, but there’s something particularly dispiriting about a reboot that resets a lousy movie (in this case, 2007’s timothy olyphant - wasting hitman) into an equally lousy (if ever so slightly less dull) movie. here, once again, is the bald, barcoded, and entirely conspicuous video game protagonist who shoots his way through a nonsense plot, his near - invincibility inciting surprisingly chintzy special effects along the way, in between the ample time this movie spends on scenes of people staring at computer screens as face - recognition programs run. it shouldn’t be hard to make an entertaining b - movie about a genetically engineered assassin, but it may be time for the hitman franchise to quit while it’s behind. presumably an even lower - rent version of max payne will appear in a year or two to take its place. [ jesse hassenger ]
kinja is in read - only mode. we are working to restore service .
dora (chloe rose) is home alone on halloween. when three kids show up at her door in masks, she thinks they are regular trick or treaters. despite dora giving them candy, they come back to keep terrorizing her. at first it’s normal stuff like egging and pumpkin smashing, but it evolves into a much stranger assault from demons who clearly have supernatural powers.
hellions is a 2015 canadian horror film directed by bruce mcdonald , written by pascal trottier and starring chloe rose . the film was an official selection of the 2015 sundance film festival lineup and also screened at the 2015 toronto international film festival . 
hellions is a 2015 canadian horror film directed by bruce mcdonald, written by pascal trottier and starring chloe rose. the film was an official selection of the 2015 sundance film festival lineup and also screened at the 2015 toronto international film festival.
hellions is a 2015 canadian horror film directed by bruce mcdonald, written by pascal trottier and starring chloe rose. the film was an official selection of the 2015 sundance film festival lineup and also screened at the 2015 toronto international film festival.