This review may contain spoilers…
The Children stars Hannah Tionton, Eva Birthistle, Stephen Campbell Moore, Jeremy Sheffield, and Rachel Shelley. This film has been rated R for strong bloody violence, language, and some sexuality.
During one innocuous Christmas season, two families decide to celebrate the holidays together at a country house located in a remote forest, dragging their four toddlers and one apathetic teenage daughter along for the ride. However, their celebrations take a turn for the worse when the children begin to behave differently; they become cold, distant, and eventually violent. With the parents unwilling to recognize their children’s sudden change, it is up to the teenage daughter to stop the children’s murder spree.
The strengths:
The concept of this British horror film was originally set as a tongue and cheek zombie movie with kids becoming monsters as a side effect of a passing comet entering Earth’s atmosphere. Aside from being a total rip-off of another apocalyptic film pertaining to rogue comets, thankfully later rewrites of the script scaled back the tone, approaching the material with serious drama and culminating in a story that prides itself on thrills and building tension as the film progresses. The child actors utilized are terrific in their execution, able to act naturally as normal kids and then flip into a dark and menacing performance conveyed through body language. The adults as well are believable in their roles, if suffering from holding the idiot ball for too long in certain cases. The blood and gore abound for horror hounds but is tastefully applied to add to the terror of the situation.
The flaws:
Those who cannot stomach the idea of children being harmed or acting maliciously will not find this film too entertaining. And, for better or worse, the film leaves the cause of the children’s shift in behavior very ambiguous; though implying the root is on a microscopic scale.
Bottom line:
This serious, dark drama thrills and chills as it plays on the fears of the younger generation forcibly replacing the old.
P.S.:
The Blockbuster residing on 3023 Wade Hampton Blvd Ste K, which has stood there for nearly a decade, is closing its doors. They are selling off their movies for $9.99 and lower as well as their games and merchandise. Their relocation is pending; visit the Blockbuster website for more. This film is available at 2435 E North St Ste 1119.
Comments