The Children (2008)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

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:

Children | Christmas | Cell Phone | Forest | Madness

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)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:18 | UK:18 (DVD rating) | USA:R (certificate #45508)

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:

Elaine: Come on now, Daddy's not angry!
Jonah: No, Daddy's very angry!

Kids Go Wild In The Country

A worthy British Horror film that delivers, despite a low budget. The twist is the use of children both as the perpetrators, and victims, of killing. Largely a cinematic taboo. Director Tom Shankland ekes the maximum value out of a single setting, and small cast, wringing every ounce out of an interesting idea.

Two related smug middle class couples spend the new year in the English Countryside with their children when something makes "good children go bad". The rustling trees and undergrowth are very reminiscent of the Happening. The malevolent children reprising themes from "The Omen", "The Brood" and "Village of the Damned". Shankland creates some genuinely scary scenes as the children turn on their bewildered parents. But insufficient prior characterisation means that the viewer tends to be more irritated by the adults poor decision making, than be sympathetic to their plight. The gratuitous "blonde in underwear" shot shows that Shankland understands the demands of the genre well! A generally pacey 84 minute story has expired as the film draws to its close, but the final shot is still pretty chilling, is a fitting coda, and offers the opportunity of a sequel. The fact that what has happened is not explained is a bonus, rather than a source of frustration, and the blood and gore, particularly as it is delivered by children, stretches the 15 certification to its limits.

Sufficiently off beat, both in terms of location and content, to satisfy the Horror crowd, and potentially a minor Cult classic.