Like most of the American population, I chose this movie because I'm a Breaking Bad fan. I know Aaron Paul as Jesse, a more or less, kid. In this movie, I couldn't believe that it was Pinkman as somebody's...dad. He nailed it! The kids were great actors as well. This movie was so emotional and you felt uncomfortable so many times. Not uncomfortable because the movie was "disturbing", more like uncomfortable because this could be anyone's family, even yours. Even good people can just lose their mind in the face of tragedy.The movie doesn't need a fast paced story to keep you on the edge of your seat. You can't help but get invested so much in the characters. The ending is perfect.

"What are you troublemakers up to?Based on Kat Candler's own short film, Hellion is a movie that tries to explore the life of a thirteen year old boy named Jacob (Josh Wiggins) who has recently lost his mother, and to make things worse his father (Aaron Paul) has been emotionally absent while drowning himself in booze. It is no surprise that Jacob has been expressing his rebellion by participating in several acts of vandalism along with his neighborhood friends. When word gets out that his little brother, Wes (Deke Garner), is being dragged into this lifestyle, CPS places him in the care of their Aunt Pam (Juliette Lewis). Hollis loves his children, but he is still hurting for the loss of their mother and when he realizes that he is also losing his children he tries to change, but the focus of the film is on Jacob who thinks he can make things right by winning a local dirt bike competition. This is a coming of age film that tries to portray the family dynamics in an authentic way, but it never fully avoids the genre clichés. Hellion lacks some subtlety, but it benefits from a strong lead performance from Josh Wiggins. Besides directing, Candler wrote the screenplay for this film in which she has no intention of shining a light on the innocence of this kid, but rather portraying him as a victim of his circumstance due to the neglect of his father. Somehow the film failed to connect with me and I wouldn't recommend it over other brilliant coming of age films. Clocking at just under 100 minutes the pacing of the film does seem to be a problem as well and many scenes could've been cut out of the movie. We are repeatedly batted over the head with Jacob's rebellious behavior and it got a bit tiresome after a while. The soundtrack consists of mostly heavy metal tracks which both Jacob and his father like to indulge in while at home. The story takes place in a small southern Texas town which is gorgeously captured by Brett Pawlak's shaky cameras. Unfortunately everything that Hellion tries to say has been said before in other better films.What Hellion has going for it are the strong performances. Josh Wiggins is outstanding as the lead character in the film. It is hard to get a good performance from young teen actors at times, but Wiggins is a natural and he delivers an authentic portrayal of a troubled teen who is struggling to understand why the world has turned its back on him. Deke Garner plays his younger brother in a subtle manner. He is mostly a sponge that tries to absorb what the people around him say to him. Garner had worked with Candler in the short which this film is based on. Imagine if Aaron Paul's character from Breaking Bad would've been rehabilitated after finding a lovely wife and having two children with her. Later he loses his wife and falls in despair all over again, but instead of drowning his sorrows in drugs he does so with booze. Paul is playing this character full of anger once again who doesn't seem to know how to raise his children on his own. It was refreshing to see Juliette Lewis playing a normal role and trying to be a good role model for her nephews. This is Josh Wiggins movie and he elevates the material in such a way that he makes this a watchable experience despite lacking originality and subtlety.

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

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't fully understand. He serves as the heart of the film, motivating the actions of Jacob, Hollis, and Pam. Providing able support are the kids playing Jacob's cronies. Candler has selected an incredibly talented young whom we will hopefully see up on screen more frequently.Between the acting, the direction, the cinematography, and the themes of loss and responsibility, Hellion is one of the best and most powerful films released thus far in 2014. Though it may not break new ground in terms of its story, Candler brings a unique-enough feel to it to make it stand out. Apparently she is currently working on a feature expansion of another great short of hers, Black Metal. Based on the level of quality present in this, that can't come out soon enough!