The Children (2008 film)

Last updated

The Children
Children film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tom Shankland
Screenplay byTom Shankland
Story by Paul Andrew Williams
Produced by Allan Niblo
James Richardson
Starring Eva Birthistle
Hannah Tointon
Stephen Campbell Moore
CinematographyNanu Segal
Edited byTim Murrell
Music by Stephen Hilton
Production
companies
Screen West Midlands
BBC Films
Aramid Entertainment
Barnsnape Films
Distributed by Vertigo Films
Release date
  • 5 December 2008 (2008-12-05)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Children is a 2008 British horror thriller film set around the New Year holiday [1] [2] directed by Tom Shankland, based on a story by Paul Andrew Williams and starring Eva Birthistle and Hannah Tointon. [3] [4] The story centers around a virus that turns all children into blood-thirsty monsters during a winter vacation. The film premiered on 5 December 2008 and received positive reviews from critics.

Contents

Plot

Elaine and Jonah travel with their two children, Miranda and Paulie, and Casey (Elaine’s teenage daughter from a previous relationship), to spend the New Year with Elaine's older sister, Chloe, her husband Robbie, and their two children, Nicky and Leah. On arrival, Paulie vomits, which his mother believes is due to motion sickness.

As the night progresses, Nicky and Leah also begin to show symptoms of illness. Leah coughs up black bile, in which strange forms of bacteria are seen proliferating exponentially. By the next day, all of the children have become pale and ill, and exhibit signs of disturbing behavior. Also the family cat Jinxie goes missing.

After an upset during lunch, when Miranda unexpectedly attacks Chloe, Robbie takes the other children sledding in the garden, to defuse the situation. But Nicky places a garden rake in the path of Robbie’s sled, which slices open his head on impact. Robbie dies and the children flee into the forest.

Casey had planned to leave and meet up with her friends for a party, but before she can do this she is frightened to find Leah in the forest, laughing and cutting into something.

Back in the house, Jonah tries to call emergency services, but they are held up by the snowy weather. Paulie attacks Jonah and also causes Elaine to break her leg. Casey and Elaine seek refuge in the greenhouse.

Chloe finds Robbie's body mutilated by the children, and is herself attacked by Leah. Casey saves her, and Elaine in turn saves Casey from Paulie, accidentally killing him. Chloe accuses Casey and Elaine of going insane, and angrily runs off into the woods with Jonah to find the other children.

Jonah and Chloe are separated in the woods: Chloe finds Nicky and Leah, but they attack and kill her. At the house, Casey sees Miranda beating Jinxie's corpse and throttles her, but just then Jonah arrives and Miranda tells him Casey attacked her. Jonah locks Casey in a bedroom and he and Miranda flee by car. Leah and Nicky break into the house and approach Elaine menacingly, but she cannot bring herself to hurt them. The kids attempt to cut into her stomach, but Casey escapes from the bedroom and kills Nicky.

Casey and Elaine drive off, but find Jonah dead in his car, having crashed into a tree. When Casey investigates, Miranda tries to attack her, but Elaine runs the child down with her car. She and Casey notice a crowd of staring children, including Leah, emerging from the woods; Elaine, who has observed Casey vomiting in the woods, is unsure whether to let Casey accompany her, but ultimately she's unable to leave her behind and they drive off.

As Elaine drives, an unresponsive Casey starts staring into space like the infected children did. As the film ends, the audience are left wondering if the virus has infected Casey as well.

Cast

Locations

The film was shot in Cookhill Priory, a former Cistercian nunnery, and in the nearby villages of Cookhill and Alcester in the English counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire, respectively.

Box office

The film opened at 10th place in the UK, grossing only £98,205 at 132 cinemas.[ citation needed ] In the weeks after its release, the film dropped to 13th place and then again to 22nd place.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76% based on reviews from 17 critics. The site's consensus reads: "Unsettling and spine-chilling low-budget British horror, with effective and disturbing scares". [5]

The film opened to generally positive reviews from UK critics. The Guardian writer Phelim O'Neill said, "the violence is skilfully enough executed to make you think you see much more than you actually do and the fundamentally disturbing and creepy aspects about such random and unpredictable child-centric mayhem are always present, no matter how ludicrously intense and darkly humorous things get". [6] Time Out gave the film four out of five stars and said "This taboo-shattering movie taps in to primal fears about the unknow-ability of children, its blood-stained virgin snow and insidious terror recalling cruel fairy tales and ‘demon child’ movies such as The Omen ." [7]

In the United States reviewers were equally positive. Bloody Disgusting said "The Children has it all and is guaranteed to please even the hardest to satisfy horror fan." [8] IGN said of the film "The Children is a flawlessly mounted horror film that knows exactly how to scare its audience." [9]

Awards

Director Tom Shankland won the Special Mention Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival in 2009 for his professional approach to the children actors in the film.

Related Research Articles

<i>Gothika</i> 2003 film by Mathieu Kassovitz

Gothika is a 2003 American horror film directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, written by Sebastian Gutierrez, co-produced by Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis, and starring Halle Berry with Robert Downey Jr., Penélope Cruz, Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, and Bernard Hill. The film follows a psychiatrist who finds herself incarcerated in the penitentiary in which she works, accused of brutally murdering her own husband.

<i>Ae Fond Kiss...</i> 2004 film

Ae Fond Kiss... is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach, and starring Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle. The title is taken from a Scottish song by Robert Burns, the complete line being "Ae Fond Kiss, and then we sever..."

Hannah Tointon is an English actress. She is best known for playing Katy Fox in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks and Tara Brown in sitcom The Inbetweeners.

<i>Intermedio</i> (film) 2005 film by Andrew Lauer

Intermedio is a 2005 American horror film directed by Andrew Lauer.

<i>Cut</i> (2000 film) 2000 Australian film

Cut is a 2000 Australian slasher film directed by Kimble Rendall and starring Kylie Minogue, Molly Ringwald, Jessica Napier, and Tiriel Mora.

<i>The Brotherhood of Satan</i> 1971 film by Bernard McEveety

The Brotherhood of Satan is a 1971 American supernatural horror film directed by Bernard McEveety, written by L. Q. Jones, and starring Jones, Alvy Moore, Strother Martin, and Ahna Capri. It follows a man who, while traveling through the American Southwest with his young daughter and girlfriend, encounter a small town where a coven of Satanists are kidnapping the local children to transfer their own souls into their bodies.

<i>Wake Wood</i> 2011 film

Wake Wood is a 2009 Irish supernatural horror film directed by David Keating and starring Timothy Spall, Eva Birthistle, Ella Connolly and Aidan Gillen. An international co-production between Ireland and the United Kingdom by Hammer Film Productions, the film is set in Donegal, Ireland. The story revolves around a grieving couple, Patrick and Louise, who move to a rural village after the tragic death of their daughter, Alice. They encounter strange rituals led by Arthur, a veterinary colleague, that can bring the dead back to life for three days.

<i>Ruby</i> (1977 film) 1977 horror drama film directed by Curtis Harrington

Ruby is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by Curtis Harrington, and starring Piper Laurie, Stuart Whitman, and Roger Davis. Its plot follows a former gun moll in 1951 Florida who operates a drive-in theater, where bizarre supernatural occurrences begin to plague her staff of ex-mobsters, as well as her mute daughter.

<i>Home and Away: Romances</i> Season of television series

Home and Away: Romances is an exclusive-to-DVD special of Australia's most popular soap Home and Away. It was released on 2 November 2005 and unlike it previous two DVD releases, Secrets and the City and Hearts Divided which only contained three episodes each, this release is completely different, this takes a look back at all the classic Home and Away relationships over the past 17 years of the show from 1988 to 2005. It is hosted by Home and Away star Beau Brady and has everything from first meetings to good and bad dates, first kisses to love triangles and proposals to happy endings. The DVD also contains the movie length pilot episode, which is a rare chance for fans to go back to where it all began.

<i>Lake Placid: The Final Chapter</i> 2012 film by Don Michael Paul

Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is a 2012 American made-for-television action horror comedy film directed by Don Michael Paul, written by David Reed and stars Elisabeth Röhm, Yancy Butler, Paul Nicholls and Robert Englund. It is a sequel to Lake Placid 3 (2010) and the fourth installment in the Lake Placid film series, telling the story of killer crocodiles who terrorize the local community. The film premiered on September 29, 2012, by Syfy and was released on DVD on February 19, 2013. As the title suggests, it was originally intended to be the final installment in the series, but was followed by Lake Placid vs. Anaconda, a crossover with Anaconda film series in 2015.

<i>Dont Go in the Woods</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film

Don't Go in the Woods is a 2010 American horror musical written and directed by Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was first shown in 2010 at single locations in the United States. It was released on Video on demand (VOD) on 26 December 2011, and on general theatrical release in January 2012. The film was made in upper New York state by 5 Minutes Productions, and distributed by Tribeca Film.

Shake, Rattle & Roll V is a 1994 Filipino horror anthology film and the fifth installment of the Shake, Rattle & Roll film series. It was distributed by Regal Films, and was directed by Manny Castañeda, Don Escudero and Jose Javier Reyes. The film is an entry of the 1994 Metro Manila Film Festival. It is the only film in the series to have a frame narrative.

<i>Hashtag Horror</i> 2015 American film

#Horror is a 2015 American horror thriller film written and directed by Tara Subkoff, and starring Chloë Sevigny, Timothy Hutton, Natasha Lyonne, Taryn Manning, and Balthazar Getty. The plot follows a group of wealthy 7th grade girls who face a night of terror together after a social media game that twisted out of control.

<i>Siren</i> (2016 film) 2016 American film

Siren is a 2016 American horror film directed by Gregg Bishop and written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. It is the first spin-off film in the V/H/S franchise and feature-length adaptation of "Amateur Night", David Bruckner's segment from the 2012 anthology horror film V/H/S. It was released on December 2, 2016 in theatres, on DVD on December 6, 2016 and on Netflix January 1, 2020. The film focuses on Jonah and his groomsmen the day before his wedding, as they embark on a wild night of partying and debauchery. The party, however, becomes a savage fight for survival when they unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.

<i>Pyewacket</i> (film) 2017 Canadian film

Pyewacket is a 2017 Canadian horror thriller film written and directed by Adam MacDonald. It stars Laurie Holden and Nicole Muñoz. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

V/H/S is an American horror anthology franchise that includes six found footage films, two spin-off films, and one miniseries. Created from an original story idea by Brad Miska, the plot centers around a number of disturbing VHS tapes that are discovered by innocent viewers and the possessive influence of the videos over those who see them. Realized by a collaboration of various filmmakers and different casts, the installments are mostly standalone in nature; though recurring elements indicate the same fictional villain as the source for all of its videos.

"On the Inside" is the sixth episode of the eleventh season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. The 159th episode of the series overall, the episode was directed by executive producer Greg Nicotero and written by Kevin Deiboldt. "On the Inside" was released on the streaming platform AMC+ on September 19, 2021, before airing on AMC on September 26, 2021.

<i>Barbarians</i> (2021 film) 2021 British thriller film

Barbarians is a 2021 horror film written and directed by Charles Dorfman and starring Iwan Rheon, Tom Cullen, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Inès Spiridonov. It follows a group of four at a dinner party which is derailed by masked invaders.

Death Valley is a 2021 Canadian science fiction horror film directed by Matthew Ninaber, starring Jeremy Ninaber, Ethan Mitchell and Kristen Kaster.

References

  1. ↑ "Horror Movie Review: The Children (2008)". 14 December 2018.
  2. ↑ "12 Days of Christmas Horror: Day 8 - the Children (2008)". 21 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "The Children". BBC One. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "Tom Shankland Talks The Children". DreadCentral. 6 October 2009.
  5. ↑ "The Children (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  6. ↑ O'Neill, Phelim (5 December 2008). "Film review: The Children". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 July 2008.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg
  7. ↑ Floyd, Nigel (2 December 2008). "The Children". Time Out . Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  8. ↑ Miska, Brad (6 October 2009). "The Children (The Day)". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  9. ↑ Shaffer, R.L. (6 October 2009). "The Children DVD Review". IGN . Retrieved 9 October 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.