Hellion (2014)

Kids that are too much to handle are often referred to as hellions. The movie by the same name follows the Wilson family where the father is struggling single dad trying to raise his rambunctious two boys. The boys seem to get into all type of troubles and the opening scene shows how they seem to be in the wrong crowd. This movie does a good job of showing how sometimes bad things happen to good people. How a few bad decisions can put you in spiral that can put your life out of control. It also showcases the difficulty of a middle class family in making it. A small release film but a powerful story of those kids that always seem to be on the wrong place all the time. I enjoyed the movie and Juliet Lewis creates a believable role in the caring aunt. Dr Wilson Trivino

Fmovies: My review title is basically what it comes down to. The film is fine, not really original, not that great, but well-done enough. The script has clichés but that doesn't mean it's not effective, and the direction well-observed. Really, the cinematography is exquisite, although not necessarily surprising. It has that certain sort of glare that so many indies these days have, and in ways it helps it aesthetically, even if at times it does seem a bit too overly self-conscious. It's fine though, it's not a huge deal and it mostly works well enough. Aaron Paul is good, he's great at this kind of misery stuff, but Josh Wiggins is a star in the making, similar to Tye Sheridan in his naturalism.

Hellion also known as Retribution is a slight tale from writer and director Kat Candler which has slow, unrushed placing.

The film chronicles a family on the edge of destruction in rural Southeast Texas. Jacob Wilson (Josh Wiggins) likes heavy metal and loves motocross biking. He and his mates also get into vandalism and arson. Unfortunately for them, for every wrong move they make the police are immediately on to them.

His father Hollis (Aaron Paul) is also broken. He his grieving over the loss of his wife, drinks too much and not spending enough time to look after his two children, their house is squalid. Hollis was a one time local baseball star. His actions also brings him to the attention of the police. The behaviour of both puts the younger son Wes at risk and into the hands of the child protection services who have him fostered out to his aunt Pam (Juliette Lewis.)

Things take a turn for the worse when Jacob and his gang go to the aunt's house to visit Wes.

The film has naturalistic performances from the child actors which is the big plus for the film. Everything is low key, fatalistic even. The only thing sunny here is the weather. The pacing is uneven as the film is a slow burner. There is too much contrivances, the police seem to be always there when there is trouble which is hard to swallow.

There is irony to see Lewis being terrorised at the end of the movie from a gang of kids, after all she did her share of terrorising twenty years ago in films like Natural Born Killers.

Hellion fmovies. The loss of a loved one is a devastating occurrence that's never easy to cope with. Some families can handle it with strength and composure. Some are less successful and fall apart. Kat Candler's Hellion, an expansion of her 2012 short of the same name, is a searing portrayal of the latter. We meet this family in a state of total disarray and follow them as they struggle to reconnect their tattered bonds, with near-disastrous results. It's not an easy film to watch, but because Candler portrays this journey in such an earnest and compelling fashion, and because she has great help from a wonderful cast of both experienced actors and up-and-comers, you can't take your eyes off of the screen.

When we meet Hollis (Aaron Paul) and his two sons, Jacob (Josh Wiggins) and his younger brother, Wes (Deke Garner), they have already lost their wife/mother. Hollis has basically abandoned his children, spending his days renovating a hurricane-ravaged beach house where they were all planning to move to before the tragedy. Jacob has become a troublemaker, doing everything from trespassing to property destruction. Within the film's opening minutes, we witness him and his buddies smashing up and setting fire to a truck. What's worse is that Jacob involves Wes in his law-breaking excursions. When they see the conditions in which he is living, Child Protective Services decides to place Wes in the custody of his Aunt Pam (Juliette Lewis). This serves as a wake-up call to both Jacob and Hollis, who decide to get their acts together and create a more suitable environment for the youngster. Jacob sets his sights on competitive motocross racing, while Hollis aims to finish up the beach house.

Candler, a native Texan, and cinematographer Brett Pawlak (doing stunning work) really capture the natural feel of her southern setting. The on-location shooting gives the film an authentic feel, as well as serves as a sort of love letter to her home state. You can sense how passionate Candler is about Texas through the ways in which it is lensed. This is not Hollywood fakery. The authentic feel of the locations helps to build upon the authentic feel of the story. Its impact is much more powerful because of this. Also notable is the use of heavy metal music, something not usually present in this type of story. It serves as a way of conveying the anger the boys are feeling in their current situation. It's an extra touch that works perfectly and makes this stand out from similar films.

The two big name actors in this film, Aaron Paul and Juliette Lewis, are both fantastic. Paul makes Hollis, an absent father, into a more sympathetic figure than he could've been. Although we don't always agree with what Hollis does, we feel the pain that he does, and so we understand where he's coming from. This is a wonderful addition to his post-Breaking Bad career. Lewis, given a chance to play a more grounded character than the wackier roles she's known for, does an equally great job. Though not his mother, it's clear that Pam loves Wes and wants what's best for him.

However, as good as Paul and Lewis are, the real stars of this film are the newcomers. Josh Wiggins, a star in the making, perfectly captures all of the emotions needed to portray the troubled Jacob, from love and happiness to anger and desperation. He is game for whatever is needed of him, which is great considering he has to go to some dark places. Equally solid is Deke Garner as the younger brother caught up in circumstances he doesn&

I decided a few months in advance that I wanted to attend Sundance 2014 with some friends; something I'd been meaning to do for years. Imagine my surprise when I looked over the festival program and saw 'Hellion', directed by Kat Candler -- a faculty member at The University of Texas, my alma mater. I'd known a bit about the development of the film through the school, and that it had been a short film previously, and so I committed to seeing it at the fest. Even more surprising when I got in line for tickets, the film was sold out!

Around Sundance, there was lots of buzz about 'Hellion' and its breakout performances (Josh Wiggins as a child actor, and Aaron Paul in a starring independent feature film role). Impressed by the hype from a film whose director we sort of 'knew', my friends and I all decided to leave other screenings early to waitlist the film. When the waitlist opened, the waitlist tickets were gone within SECONDS. One of my group was lucky enough to snag the first spot in the waitlist by chance, and so he gratefully surrendered his ticket to me as the rest of the group huddled outside in the Utah cold. The film was THAT big of a deal.

I made my way into the theater in Park City and sat front row, a few seats down from Candler and the producers, eager to see if the film lived up to the hype. The doors to the theater closed, the lights dimmed, and the film rolled.

The film was incredible. Not only did it live up to the hype, it far surpassed it. I was floored by the deft direction and approach to adolescent volatility. I knew through UT that Candler was talented, but was genuinely shocked by the writing, direction, creative use of production values and (perhaps most importantly) the story.

'Hellion' was a monumental film that everyone in my group at Sundance was itching to see -- and one that even more were eager to praise. I think films about fathers, sons, and brotherhood really strike a chord in modern parlance, and this fired on all cylinders in that regard.

Although I admittedly wasn't the hugest fan of the original short film (heavy metal has never been my favorite of music, so I'm a little biased) I think that the expansion to the longer-form feature was really what the concept deserved; and Candler capitalizes spectacularly on this medium.

The result is an immensely entertaining, meaningful piece that really connected these common threads of truth in troubled family relationships. As a former University of Texas student, I was very proud to have seen the film at Sundance, and hope the future holds even greater successes for Candler and her producers.

'Hellion' is everything you hope for from an independent film and more. It's thoroughly entertaining, evenly-paced, and manages to develop a strong message by the time its final frame hits the screen. Seeing 'Hellion' was a meaningful experience, and one I will not soon forget.

10/10

I was lucky enough to see this movie at Sundance 2014. Let's start at the beginning with the first notes of the metal soundtrack writer and director Kat Candler has chosen to infuse this movie with a unique, dark but powerful energy. The music sets the tone perfectly for the roiling anger and frustration the characters wrestle with in this film.

I won't go too much into the plot because part of what is beautiful about this movie is how the story unfolds and watching the characters ride the roller coaster of loss, hope, joy, love, fear, pride - all of it. It's amazing that in such a short amount of time, Candler can find all those moments, no matter how fleeting. Much of that comes from the script, but it wouldn't be so successfully conveyed without the strength of her performers.

I have not watched Breaking Bad so I came into this with no preconceived ideas of Aaron Paul as an actor. He is fantastic in this movie. As a father who has lost his anchor with the death of his wife, you can see him struggling with his own demons as he also knows he has to do right by his sons. Newcomer Josh Wiggins has a face that shows everything, every wince of hurt and disappointment and every twinkle of mischief. The supporting cast is also phenomenal. The kids are all actors who are new to film and yet they are completely natural and you will feel deeply for each of them. Juliette Lewis, an actress I have never seen act beyond her quirkiness, gives the most grounded, authentic performance I have ever seen from her.

This movie is being released nationally this summer in theaters and on VOD. Don't miss it.