Dir. Bruce McDonald | Now Streaming On: Tubi | Rating: 3/5

Any Degrassi fans out there? If so, you’ll recognize the two leads in this film, Chloe Rose and Luke Bilyk – aka Katie Matlin and Drew Torres from Degrassi: Next Generation. It’s obvious that Canadian B-productions keep it in the family. Hellions is a glorious and bizarre fever dream of a B-horror, and I didn’t hate this at all. ⁠
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The premise to the film is otherworldly and intriguing. It plays with the idea of Halloween as Samhain, the pagan festival where the veil between this world and the next is thin enough for the dead to walk among us. It calls back to a cornerstone and personal favorite of mine, Trick ‘r Treat, where venegeful spirits return to wreak havoc on the seemingly innocent living. ⁠
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The lighting, pacing, and storyline of this film is trippy and jarring. As a viewer, we feel as though we are stumbling through this Halloween evening right alongside Dora. The true horror of her pregnancy comes to light as our undead trick-or-treaters carry out their plan for the unborn child. There are a few scenes in this that really stuck with me for how creepy they are. The voices on these strange children are like a mixture of a strange masculine doll with nails in a blender. A take on the demon voice I’ve never seen before. ⁠
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If you come into this viewing with the right headspace, you should enjoy this. This is a B-movie and embodies the gritty, haphazard nature of production quality you should expect from one. It’s got some holes, but overall this is a fun Halloween watch. ⁠
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Know Before You Watch: Features blood, gore, violence, flashing lights, animal violence. ⁠