Mal Intencionados

This movie is clearly a piece of pro-life propaganda from about five minutes in and while philosophical stances in movies and using horror as allegory is not always a bad thing, in this case it is just too heavy handed and shallow to really be any good.

There is barely any thought given to character or plot and it is more all about creating striking visuals to drive home the message of how wrong it is to have an abortion. Whatever your stance on the issue it does not mean that you can't make a subtler and more thought-provoking film on the subject, otherwise you are just preaching to the converted.

If you can look past the blatant bias that this movie possesses then there are some cool visuals and a dream-like feel that makes the film pretty unique considering it seems like the people who made it didn't actually care about the substance of their product. Still though I can't recommend a movie for style alone so I would give this one a miss, unless you just want to be told what you already know.

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.

This movie popped up in an email from Netflix as "something you may enjoy". Netflix, you couldn't have been more wrong.

To be honest, I'm still not sure what the hell I just watched. I thought it started out decent. It felt like I was watching The Strangers, but with children; home invasion and children, two very creepy things in my opinion. The movie quickly turned into "demons from hell" type movie, which I could get on board, if it weren't for the quick turn it made into that direction.

Some people say it's a pro-life propaganda movie, which I could kind of see, but that also may be reaching a little bit.

I thought the acting was good in some spots; I thought the music was definitely creepy (Christmas sounding music with a child like tone); and I thought some of the visual effects and costumes were cool.

What I didn't like were the lingering effects in scenes that looked choppy (the constant shot of her in the hanging sheets). I thought some of the dialogue was extremely lame. And, because the movie kind of goes by so quick, it's really hard to pin down what is actually happening. I felt like the film maker had a bunch of different good ideas in his head, and instead of picking one and running with it, he crammed everything into one movie.

Overall I think the movie could have been so much better. There are definitely good elements there, they just need to be justly presented.

This is some trippy, dream-like metaphor for the fear of young parenthood. Little kids terrorizing a 17 year old who just found out she's pregnant. Does this whole thing take place in her head? It's presented as such, and even if it's not, you know from the way things unfold there's not much reality to the proceedings. This film should basically be a pure atmospheric horror ride but it's too much in the main character's head, a head we don't know that well and we know isn't that important beyond the type it represents anyway.

It's hard to find a tangible connection with this film and I found it hard to engage with the "terror" scenes outside a passing interest in the way they were shot and assembled. They didn't engage me, and in a non-cerebral film like this that's basically a death knell.

Hellions is a very well made Horror movie that's for sure but it's more than a Horror movie it plays on fears of childbirth & the terrifying realisation that a girls world is about to change along with her body.

Chloe Rose is the pregnant 17 year old this movie is about & she plays Dora abit of a loner goth type of rebel chick & Rose gives a fantastic performance of all the ranges of emotion & then some & she's acts it brilliantly so i think this girl will do well in the movie world.

One of my all time favourite actors is in Hellions & that's the always good veteran Robert Patrick & here he plays a tough serious local police officer who is there to protect & serve our hero Dora & again although under used his screen presence is always welcomed & gives a solid performance for his screen time mixed up in this crazy nightmare world.

The movie looks BEAUTIFUL most of the time with stunning cinematography & i like the way it starts as a proper Halloween themed Home invasion Horror with demonic trick or treaters & then crosses over into a twilight zone type nightmare world.

There is bits that doesn't make sense or atleast to me & you never REALLY know what is real & what really happened but it's a part of the crazy acid trip dream like charm & you can make your mind up with what plays out.

All in all Hellions is a beautiful Looking Halloween Horror with underlining messages of fear & anxiety about pregnancy.

I think Hellions is a good watch but because it's very weird & dreamlike it's not one to watch lots.