Visually spectacular horror rises from the dead in Hellions, new to blu this week.
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| "Instead of treats, I could really use a brain and my boy here needs a heart! Got any for us?" |
The age old themes of teenage sexuality in horror rear their ugly head in the release of Hellions, a beautiful looking feature that takes the genre in a slightly strange direction. As a dark tale of maternal instinct gone south, this is a strange and ethereal Halloween night movie that bears the markings of its genre predecessors but takes a sharp turn from standard fare into an unrelentingly confusing narrative that will keep audiences guessing and questioning the film maker's directives. This is either conceptual art framed as a horrific motion picture or its a director playing with a set of brushes with no real painting in mind. Either way, Hellions is different in a good way. And it's one of the more interesting bits of horror from 2015.
Centered on the gorgeous Chloe Rose and a support role by Robert Patrick, Hellions spawns a new tale of terror that wears it pro life position on its sleeve while creepy moments of terror fill the colorfully abstract landscape with vicious shades of pink and evil child like symbolism that render this a totally original motion picture. Stemming from a claustrophobic housebound feel to surreal pumpkin laden exterior shots to tripped out visual effects and unique camera work, Hellions only suffers because the story itself is not that good. However, the messages it presents in its dreamlike scenarios are the type that will force viewers to think about what's going on, while enjoying an ungodly amount of tension driving musical notes.
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| "Well, at least my baby looks better than Trump." |
Fans of horror will definitely find problems with Hellions and a lot will swear this off as pretentious crap. But, the editing and seductive visual elements alone give this movie an original feel and a '70s style picturesque quality that begs to offer something dynamic this Halloween season. There are some deep rooted metaphors here and just enough slicing and dicing to keep horror fans mildly interested if they can shrug off the incoherent presentation. While I've enjoyed similar films this year like Horsehead, it's hard to strongly suggest this unless you can bear the mysteries and the puzzle that Hellions exists in.
Being a fan of non-linear cinema, this gets a passing grade from me but might be an annoyance to some. The entire movie feels like an extended dream sequence that becomes derivative in a few spots. With creepy little kids being the main antagonists and a fair amount of inflicted pain, Hellions gets a passing grade despite some obvious shortcomings and its glaring nods to other (better) genre entries.
Score
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