The Children (2008)

Director:

Tom Shankland

Writers:

Tom Shankland (writer)
Paul Andrew Williams (based on a story)

Release Date:

5 December 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

You brought them into this world. Now ... They will take you out.

Plot:

A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents. |

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Bitten Hand | Snowball | Mother In Law Daughter In Law Relationship | Fatal Accident

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Eva Birthistle	...	Elaine
Stephen Campbell Moore	...	Jonah
Jeremy Sheffield	...	Robbie
Rachel Shelley	...	Chloe
Hannah Tointon	...	Casey
Raffiella Brooks	...	Leah
Jake Hathaway	...	Nicky
William Howes	...	Paulie
Eva Sayer	...	Miranda

Also Known As:

The Day (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing bloody violent content, terror, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:18 | UK:18 (DVD rating) | USA:R (certificate #45508) | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18

Company:

Vertigo Films

Goofs:

Continuity: In the close-up shots when Casey is bashing at the wood to get out the bedroom we see the door is gouged and smeared with blood. In the longer shots there are no marks on the door at all.

Quotes:

Miranda: Bye-bye Mummy.
Elaine: What?
Miranda: Be nice to Leah and Nicky
[grabs her leg splints]
Miranda: .

Movie Connections:

References SimCity (1989) (VG)

A parent's worse nightmare...

The premise of this movie is indeed real, primal horror. During the holidays, a family reunion turns into a madness when children become increasingly disturbed, due to what looks like a mysterious illness.

"Creepy kids" have been done a number of times in cinema but what separates this latest entry from many that came before it is the feeling that these kids are still kids. Certainly disturbed and not totally themselves but not entirely evil. Cruel but not zombies, mind controlled or aliens. There is still fear and fragility, which makes them a lot scarier for viewers, especially parents.

Adding to the horror is that when the parents stand up for themselves against the kids, these acts of resistance are "unsatisfying" to us, unlike other movies of the genre. That is, you do remain conflicted as a viewer instead of the typical Hollywood trash. And *that* is what horror is about.

The story is good, well-paced with a suitably tensed escalation of the menace the children represent. The characters coping with this threat (a group of adults and a teenager) are believable instead of walking clichés.

On the downside, the movie has a definite low-budget feel to it. I was surprised that Tom Shankland would direct something like this after his previous work, the polished horror/thriller Waz. A low budget plus a lot of kid actors mean that corners were cut. The film would certainly have benefited from more takes. A lot more takes, in fact. The adult actors are underwhelming and the script could have used another pass or two to make it more compelling from start to end. There are still two or three very memorable sequences in the movie, such as the one following the first body's disappearance. But overall I think Shankland will cringe at a lot of scenes here. For instance, one character spends some great deal of time with a serious injury but the result on camera is completely unbelievable.

So what we are left with is an indie movie with a lot of heart and that does a lot of things well. It is extremely courageous in its treatment. It offers something good and refreshing. And it could have been a masterpiece with slightly more budget. I'm giving this a well-deserved 6.

As a complement to this film and to see the "other side of the coin", I strongly suggest watching Lars E. Jacobson's "Baby Blues" immediately before or after "The Children".