The Children (2008)
Dir. Tom Shankland – 85 Minutes
Two families come together to celebrate Christmas in a rural English setting. The kids go mental and start trying to kill the adults.
So thats it review over. But wait . Yes this is far from original and the script isn’t the finest however this is a great British indie horror.
From the moment Elaine (Eva Birthistle) and Jonah (Stephen Campbell Moore) arrive with their kids at Elaine’s sisters house you get an immediate sense of dread that steadily increases throught the film.
Chloe (Rachel Shelley) and Robbie (Jeremy Sheffield) are Elaine’s cool and hip sister and brother-in-law respectively and they welcome the family in for Christmas.
However immediately the children start acting strangely and this becomes more apparent and more violent as the film progresses.
The acting is great especially by the little kids who were cute yet bloody chilling at the same time and Casey (Hannah Tointon) was fantastic as Elaine’s teenage daughter who wants to be anywhere but here for the holidays.
The house in set somewhere in rural England and with the snow and no houses nearby the feeling of isolation increases as does the feeling of despair as you see the parents trying to come to terms with the fact their children may be trying to kill them. How do you react in that situation?
This film has very good elements that all add up to a very dark and ultimately emotional ending. It is at times very difficult to watch and has some great scare moments.
And is there anything more unnerving than psychopathic children?
This is up there with others like Children of Ravenback, Children of the Corn, The Omen, Bloody Birthday, Village of the Damned and the great Bad Seed.
A very fine indie horror that hits hard and in the right spots 7/10.
