An early long shot of the troubled protagonist marching into his high school with a rifle provides all the foreshadowing you need for the climax of this eerie southern gothic (2013). Tortured by the school bully, humiliated by clueless teachers, young Harlon (Nick Krause) is haunted by the memory of having shot and killed the title creature during a childhood hunting expedition with his drunken father (Sam Trammell of HBO’s True Blood). This episode proves a little too neatly symbolic, but first-time screenwriter Anthony Di Pietro pulls off a couple of nice character reversals—the father sobers up and gets religion, and a self-destructive girl whom Harlon adores (Britt Robertson) straightens herself out as well—that only tighten the screws on the brooding central character. Tim McCann directed.
White Rabbit
1 hour 30 min • 2013
