THE CHILDREN

VERTIGO FILMS

RELEASED 5 December 2008

The horror movie where a family are attacked in the middle of nowhere has been done before (very recently with the disappointing 'The Strangers’, perhaps best in ‘Straw Dogs’), but I don't recall it ever (and there's a word you don't read relating to movie concepts very often) having been done before with children as the killers. But that's the premise of 'The Children'. Kids go homicidal on the adults. And we're not talking teens here. Nope, we're talking young kids around the age of six to eight. Before seeing the film, I couldn't see how this would work. But it does!

So two mid-thirties sisters and their families are taking the Christmas holidays at their remote mother's house, which is huge and snow-covered. Elaine (Eva Birthistle) and Jonah (Stephen Campbell-Moore) have three kids. Casey (Hannah Tointon) is the eldest, a slightly emo, sexually-aware teen who is bored stiff having to spend any time with her family. Miranda (Eva Sayer) and Paulie (William Howes) are their two younger children. Robbie (Jeremy Sheffield) and Chloe (Rachel Shelley) have two young kids, Leah (Rafiella Brookes) and Nicky (Jake Hathaway). As the two families settle down to drinks and chat, Paulie exhibits odd behaviour. He slaps his father round the face, he plays the glockenspiel with his hands in a random bashing manner, and he also lets the sledge roll down the hill to hit his Auntie Chloe, which gets him an aggressive bum-smacking from his father, much to everyone's dismay. Sounds like a normal kid, I hear you say, but we know something’s up with Paulie as his eyes are cold (and he has tight curly hair). Jonah keeps nagging his brother-in-law to invest in his idea for importing natural remedies for common illnesses, as he believes chemical medication is going to harm us somewhere down the line. Mentions of MMR and viruses pop up, nudging the audience, wink, wink. It soon becomes obvious that all the kids are being sick and acting strangely. It isn't long before things take a turn for the worse as the kids turn nasty.

Britain can make dramatic movies with the best of them, but I think that when it comes to horror, we actually lead the way. So many times over the years have British horror movies ruled the box office, from the golden age of Hammer to more recent fare like 'Alien' (1979), 'An American Werewolf in London' (1981), 'Hellraiser' (1987), 'Candyman' (1992), '28 Days Later' (2002), 'Shaun of the Dead' (2004), and 'The Descent' (2005). That I'm talking about 'The Children' in the same breath as these films shows how impressive are the style and ideas of the film, which are qualities rare in modern horror. Filmed in a naturalistic style with realistic acting, the script is also totally down-to earth, and not once does a character come out with an out-of-place remark or cliched horror staple. Most of the time the characters look on in shock and horror at what is unfolding around them, unable to vocalise what they’re seeing. Some of the cinematography has an arty feel, as the camera lingers on the snow turning red with blood (over twenty different liquids were tested as real blood turns pink in snow apparently). The performances, script, and direction all elevate 'The Children' to a high level. And most of all, the child actors are excellent as little murderous bastards. They really do look like viscious baby zombies. What the film does is give these kids loving parents, and then challenge the parents to defend themselves by hurting their children, which they just can't do. So the children suddenly become these deadly machines because unlike adults, who could bring themselves to murder a child? There's that classic air of a 'no-win' situation for our adults, leading to perfectly-judged final scenes.

Being a horror movie, there are some toe-curling moments of gore (broken leg, eye gouges, mutilation), and there are a good few jumps scattered throughout too.

'The Children' succeeds in every way and more. It handles ideas not seen in a horror movie before, and has faultless production values. I’d say it’s up there with 'The Orphanage' for title of 2008's best horror movie, no question.