The Children - B Movie Premise Delivers A+ Scares

The Children (2008)
Directed by: Tom Shankland
Written by: Tom Shankland & Paul Andrew Williams
DVD available from Ghosthouse Underground http://ghosthouseunderground.com/

Rating: 4/5

Look, I seriously love children. I used to work with them as a social worker, and I am an uncle to two munchkins who I love dearly. But sometimes, kids can really get under your skin, ya know? Maybe it's their limitless questions when you don't have answers. It could be their ability to project ear piercing screams when you're just trying to enjoy a meal out. Whatever the case, children can be super cute, or they can be ultra creeps. Director Tom Shankland took this concept and not only ran with it, but he circled the earth and crossed the finish line with 10 huge guys hanging on his back. Ok, maybe that's a tad hyperbolic. But I have to say, this movie delivers plenty of scares and bloodshed, in addition to breaking taboos when it comes to the portrayal of children in film.

The Children cleverly dances a fine line between psychological horror and over-the-top action horror. Everything is kept simple, though it speaks volumes if you care to ponder the concepts. Or, if you just want a movie about a bunch of kids going crazy and killing adults, well you can also enjoy it on that level. The plot is absolutely minimal, yet with apocalyptic implications. A family meets up to spend the holidays in a remote house outside of the city. Their relationships are complex and not everyone gets along, however they choose to suck it up for the benefit of their kids. One of the children comes down with a mysterious illness that a mom chalks up to motion sickness from car travel. Big mistake, mom! Even though it's (thankfully) not explained, he is clearly passing on some type of virus that is infecting the other children. After a night of gross phlegmy coughing, the following day has them exhibiting strange behavior leading to sudden violence.

Shankland revisits a formula seen before in movies like Cronenberg's excellent The Brood and an almost similarly themed and titled low budget 80's flick The Children (which I watched a ton on USA Saturday Nightmares). He manages to keep things serious enough to maintain a sense of dread, but also has a grasp of the ridiculousness lingering around the concept. What we're treated to is a surprisingly fresh, brutal, scary movie that let's itself just be what it is. He boldy goes with a no holds barred approach, and the film is all the stronger for it. It's an added bonus that it gave me a lot to chew on between the moments of chaotic mayhem, which are plentiful.



The acting is top notch with brilliant casting of the children. How the filmmakers were able to find such simultaneously cute and frightening kids is an amazing feat. How they are able to pull off such chilling performances without getting all hammy is very impressive. The adults are imperfect, rendering it easy to see why their kids might want to harm them, but you also care enough about them that you feel despair for them when the killing starts. Caught in the middle is Casey (superbly portrayed by Hannah Tointon), a teen who is not quite a child and not quite an adult. She is often made a scapegoat when the parents don't want to take responsiblity for their own children. She is the first to notice something strange with the children, yet misunderstanding and a lack of communication with the adults spells eventual destruction for all.

The finely-crafted but grating soundtrack is crucial as the crashing of toys, the shrieking of a boiling tea kettle, the crying of the children all form a cacophony of intensity that is matched by the disorienting action. When the children strike, we often don't quite know what the hell is going on, which mirrors the feeling of the parents. Again, nothing is held back as the children strike in ways that are scarily plausible, often innocently, with their curiosity on display, as well as a child's capacity for cruelty. A few times I wondered if they were genuinely murderous, or just accidents brought on by uncareful, unsupervised kids.

There is an interesting parallel drawn between children and cats in this film. Like cats, which can be very cute and cuddly, they could turn on you and slash you to shreds if they wanted. It is also hinted that the cat may be the culprit in transferring the "virus". The children play with their prey much like a cat with a mouse, very naturally, very brutally. There is no concept of right and wrong. Apparently a very smart cat has the intelligence capacity of a 3 or 4 year old, which is just a tad younger than the age of most of the children. Shankland's handling of the children allows you to still feel sympathy for their innocent doe-eyed faces even after they've commited atrocities, which is their greatest power. It is a clever device and one that makes perfect sense.

The ambiguous ending of the film leaves you with many questions, ones that could and should lead to discussions about parenting, complexity of relationships, and the natural order of things. It also subtely interjects subtext of medicine, diet, autism and the fact that parenting is still often a complete mystery in the age of science and technology. But, as I said before, if you want to turn off your brain and just enjoy a psycho kid movie, well, you can do that, too.