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In today's Horror Highlights, we have trailers for The Magnificent Dead and 3 Dead Trick or Treaters, details on Ed Marx editing Death Camp, and news about John Cusack and Christina Ricci joining the cast of Distorted.

The Magnificent Dead: Press Release: Sgl Entertainment is pleased to announce that they have just released The Magnificent Dead an epic western horror film. With a budget of more than a million dollars, this movie has been waiting for more than seven years to be released, but now the wait is over.

Directed by Shane Scott and starring Alexis Celeste Elliott, Jack Wilson, Lavelle White, David Lampe, Gilbert Austinamie Teer, Ric Maddox, Ayla Judson, Venda D’Abato, Sam Anderson, Margaret Hoard, Rick Perkins, John Arkinson, Steve Uzzell, Fred Ellis, Mark A. Hernandez, Joseph Fotinos, Chaille Stidham, Michael Sorrells, Julian Haddad, Karl Anderson, John Weathers, Marita De La Torre, Christian Haddad, Adam Simon, Kale Peel,...

Stars: Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, Dalton Sutton, Camron Owens, Dylan Cole, Jonny Mars, Walt Roberts, Annalee Jefferies | Written and Directed by Kat Candler

Review by Andrew McArthur

Kat Candler’s Hellion boasts some strong performances but ultimately feels like an amalgamation of various indie tropes that never quite hit the right emotional spot.

Texas-set Hellion follows widowed single father Hollis (Aaron Paul) who finds himself on the verge of losing his two sons to Child Protection Services after eldest son Jacob’s (Josh Wiggins) unruly behaviour attracts the attention of the police.

It seems that films revelling in Southern miserablism are all the rage recently with Mud, Joe and The Devil’s Knot all looking at the hard lives of the vulnerable people in the South of the USA. Perhaps the reason I draw this comparison is because Hellion shares so much in common with these...

IFC Films just unveiled the trailer for the upcoming "Hellion" thriller, starring Aaron Paul (Need for Speed, "Breaking Bad"), Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, Jonny Mars and Walt Roberts. Check it out below. Plot: When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces Cps to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home. The new movie is written and directed by Kat Candler and is set to hit select theaters on June 13th. Trailer:...

By Terence Johnson

Managing Editor

Hellion, the new drama from Kat Candler, is one angry and emotional film. From the opening moments till the credits rolled, this movie channels adolescent rage, loss, and the struggles of life into one intense experience that will play with your emotions.

Hellion tells the story of the Wilson clan. Jacob (Josh Wiggins) is a 13 year old motocrossed-obsessed teenager with a wild streak that ends up with him on the path to juvie. He’s idolized by his younger brother Wes and struggles in his relationship with his father (Aaron Paul), who is still reeling from his wife’s death and hasn’t done the best at caring for the boys. One day, Child Protective Services arrives and removes Wes, taking her to live with Aunt Pam (Juliette Lewis), and both Jacob and his father try and deal with their issues in order to bring him back.

Title: Hellion Director: Kat Candler Starring: Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, Jonny Mars, Walt Roberts There are all different kinds of troublesome kids. There are those bright young people that won’t apply themselves because their schoolwork is not challenging, and others who don’t focus well in a classroom setting and therefore seem less intelligent than they actually are. And then there are those who fit the term juvenile delinquent, constantly doing illegal things and showing no signs or remorse or a foreseeable change in behavior. Jacob (Josh Wiggins) is that child exactly, and his story of lawbreaking and a quest for motocross greatness makes for one immensely [ Read More ]

The post Hellion Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2013 discoveries”…

Kelly Williams: Ola Podrida’s album “Ghosts Go Blind”. The Documentary – Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay. Walt Roberts – Hellion & Parkland actor / World-Class Fiddle Player.

Lavallee: I believe that this is your third time producing a Kat Candler film (Hellion follows Hellion the short, and Black Metal). How did that professional relationship begin and could you discuss the creative dynamic between the two of you.

Williams: Even though we both live in Austin, we actually met through a mutual friend, Zack Phillips, at Sundance in 2001. We became friends over the years. In 2009, I programmed her short film, Love Bug, at the Austin Film Festival where I was a film programmer, but we didn’t actually work together until we made the Hellion short in the summer of 2011. Making that short, it became pretty obvious that we wanted to work together more.

The 2014 Sundance Film Festival is right around the corner, and the Sundance Institute has released the full line-up for the competition films that will be premiering!

This year there were 12,218 total submissions, and 117 films were accepted from 37 countries around the world. It looks like there's a lot of good selection of films this year.

The Sundance Film Festival 2014 runs from January 16th to the 26th, and the GeekTyrant team will be there to cover as many movies as we possibly can.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

The 16 films in this section are world premieres and, unless otherwise noted, are from the U.S.

“Camp X-Ray” — Directed and written by Peter Sattler. A young female guard at Guantanamo Bay forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison, J.J. Soria, John Carroll Lynch.

“Cold in July” — Directed by Jim Mickle, written by Nick Damici.

Sundance Film Festival continues to be one of the most popular, and arguably one of the most important, events on the industry calendar, launching as it does some of the most prominent independent films at the start of each year.

This year will be no different, with Sundance announcing last night the initial line-up of films screening in competition, led by Song One, starring Anne Hathaway; Camp X-Ray, starring Kristen Stewart; Infinitely Polar Bear, with Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana; Joe Swanberg’s Happy Christmas, starring Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, and Swanberg himself; The Skeleton Twins, with Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, and Ty Burrell; Life After Beth, with Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, and John C. Reilly; Listen Up Philip, with Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss; Whiplash, starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons; and many, many more.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films,...

The 2014 Sundance Film Festival is coming up in January and today, the Sundance Institute has named the films that will be in the U.S. and world competitions as well as Next, which is an oddly-named showcase for “Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling.”

There will be 67 films competing across five different competition categories. That may sound like a lot, but that’s only the first half of the film announcements. Later on they will be announcing the remaining lineup of films being shown outside these competitions.

Overall, it’s an impressive batch of entries, with several surprises and a handful of very promising movies. Check out the full list below and let us know what you think in the comments section.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Camp X-Ray / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Peter Sattler) — A young woman is stationed as a guard in Guantanamo Bay,...

God’S Pocket

Sundance Institute announced today the films selected for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions and the out-of-competition section of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “That the Festival has evolved and grown as it has over the past 30 years is a credit to both our audiences and our artists, who continue to find ways to take risks and open our minds to the power of story. This year’s films and artists promise to do the same.”

For the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, 118 feature-length films were selected, representing 37 countries and 54 first-time filmmakers, including 34 in competition. These films were selected from 12,218 submissions (72 more than for 2013), including 4,057 feature-length films and 8,161 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,014 were from the U.S. and 2,043 were international. 97 feature films at...

The 2014 Sundance Film Festival In Competition lineup has been unveiled, and along with it some first-look images and synopses have been released. After the jump, find the images and synopses for the following films that will screen as part of the U.S. Competition category: Hellion – Written and directed by Kat Candler; starring Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, Jonny Mars, and Walt Roberts. Infinitely Polar Bear – Written and directed by Maya Forbes; starring Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, and Ashley Aufderheide. Jamie Marks Is Dead – Written and directed by Carter Smith; starring Cameron Monaghan, Noah Silver, Morgan Saylor, Judy Greer, Madisen Beaty, and Liv Tyler. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter – Directed by David Zellner; starring Rinko Kikuchi. Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses. The 2014 Sundance Film Festival runs January 16 – 26th. Hellion / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kat Candler) — When motocross and heavy metal obsessed,...

As I had predicted here, names such as Cutter Hodierne, Kat Candler, Maya Forbes, Mona Fastvold and Damien Chazelle would be among the invited guests at the ’14 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. It was such a strong year that even some items that I thought would be dark horse/long shots and might be looking at a fest berth from the sidelines are considered definite dramatic comp material, while some that was fully expecting to break the line-up have been passed up.

Horror “labeled” directors Carter Smith (Jamie Marks Is Dead) and Jim Mickle (Cold in July) broke into the line-up that is usually reserved for the newbie type of director and are coming in with perhaps different genre material. We’re glad to see Justin Simien’s Dear White People break into the 16 – it also acts as the long awaited return of Duly Noted producer Effie Brown. Actor...

The U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competition lineups for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival were announced today and just below I have featured pictures from the 16 films that will be competing in the U.S. Dramatic competition and they feature a lot of names you're going to recognize. The titles begin with Camp X-Ray, which stars Kristen Stewart as a guard in Guantanamo Bay, where she forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees. Jim Mickle made an impact earlier this year with We Are What We Are and he returns with Michael C. Hall with Cold in July. Fishing Without Nets looks to tell a story similar to that of Captain Phillips, only this time from the Somali side of things; God's Pocket is "Mad Men" star John Slattery's writing and directorial debut and he's lined up an impressive cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins,...