User reviews

One of the most effective aspects of this movie is the way the tension builds inexorably. From the moment you see the children there is an impending sense of doom. The children themselves are both brilliantly cast and wonderfully realistic, by which I mean that their behaviour is easily recognisable as the normal behaviour of manipulative and moody kids, until it spills over to the purely demonic.

The rest of the cast who, apart from Stephen Campbell Moore, I didn't recognise, all portrayed characters who were very believable, even if not entirely sympathetic. After all, how can you sympathise with smug middle class parents discussing homeschooling now that they've sold the business? The adults were in fact wonderfully flawed, matched in spades by Casey, who enters the movie as the least sympathetic character: selfish, self absorbed, and distant in the way that only a sixteen year old can be. However, Casey is arguably the real hero.

The script skillfully presents the tip of the iceberg, suggesting and hinting at the unseen part of the characters' lives, never spelling everything out, but crediting the audience with the wit to work some things out for themselves. The horror cliché of characters doing stupid or unrealistic things that annoy the audience was always avoided, as was the use of the dark. Instead the action takes place against a white Christmas backdrop, which sadly reminded me a little of Reny Harlin's 'snow' bound Die Hard 2, but even so the blood on snow motif was very effective.

Tom Shankland's script, and in particular the dialogue, was very convincing, but he is also a highly visual director. According to my girlfriend the Miss Marple he helmed is quite beautifully photographed, and I really liked the atmosphere and visuals in WAZ. The Children also has the same stunning images, which along with the very powerful soundtrack, conjure a mood of foreboding and dread. If you appreciate horror movies with tension and beauty as well as a succession of wince- inducing set pieces, then this is a film for you.

The Children is directed by Tom Shankland who adapts the screenplay from a Paul Andrew Williams story. It stars Eva Birthistle, Stephen Campbell, Hannah Tointon, Eva Sayer, William Howes, Rachel Shelley and Jeremy Sheffield. Music is by Stephen Hilton and cinematography by Nanu Segal.

A Christmas holiday at a remote country home turns into a fight for survival when the children suddenly start to turn on the adults.....

Could you kill your own kid? There's a nasty edge to Shankland's little shocker, and we are not just talking about creepy kids offing adults here. Although lifting freely from classic evil-children horrors from the past, The Children manages to remain fresh by playing on the aspect of the parents' refusal to accept that their cherubic offspring could do evil. Even when faced with blatant malevolence, the adults struggle to fight back. I mean, could you drop-kick your own child down the stairs? Added kicker in the writing is that the only character in the set-up who grasps what is going on is the troubled teenager (Tointon excellent), a nice twist for it is so often the case in horror movies that we bemoan dumb teens doing even dumber things.

With the makers unfolding the drama amongst a virginal snowy setting, there's much thought gone into crafting more than just a standard gory shocker. Shankland shows a good sense of mood and pacing, drip-feeding the unease and never getting carried away with the premise. His closeup camera-work has an unsettling quality to it, while the deaths are inventive and mercifully not over done, the editing neatly giving us the viewers the chance to fill in the blanks. Some of the adult actors irritate rather than gain our belief, and the odd "dumb" reaction to a situation rears its ugly head. But mostly this is a thoughtful and spicy Brit horror that's worth seeking out by those after more than your rank and file slasher movie. 7/10

I wasn't expecting that much from this movie, because it all just seemed very familiar. Evil children turning on their parents who are too dumb to notice anything's wrong until it's too late, there are at least a dozen movies like that. Combine that with an incredibly uninspired title and you get a movie that just sits on my shelf for years.

Unjustly, because as unoriginal and predictable this movie is...it's also really freightening! The scary atmosphere is done really well, and it helps that you don't actually see the children kill for the first two acts. It's all in the power of suggestion, and in the feeling of dread you get from every scene. The child actors are also great, their blank, unemotional stares send shivers down my spine. The plot follows the creepy kid formula beat by beat, but it's not a problem. Just take the obligatory first kill, the one that always looks like it's an accident. That scene is executed perfectly, really unnerving. The movie never really drops the ball from then on.

There's nothing ground-breaking about "The Children", there's not even anything interesting to the plot. It's very much style over substance, but the style is great and that's enough for me to recommend it.

Horrid smug Middle class parents get killed by and kill their own children, what could be better? Who could not enjoy this? Well, other than 15 year olds who can't appreciate a horror film with *shock horror* time spent on genuine character development, a decent script and people behaving in a believable manner when confronted and confused by the horror they're confronted with.

The Children is great because it's a rare oasis in the desert of generic (mainly US) horror, these are parents who understandably find it difficult to accept their own children have become killers and are obviously not too enamoured with the idea of killing their own offspring (which explains to certain 15 year old fools why the adults are so easily overcome). There are no generic idiot teens walking into danger for no discernible reason, in fact the one teen Casey (played excellently by Hannah Tointon) is the strongest character in the film.

This is the best Horror film I've seen in quite a while...if it doesn't appeal to teenage horror fans...so much the better.

The premise of this movie is indeed real, primal horror. During the holidays, a family reunion turns into a madness when children become increasingly disturbed, due to what looks like a mysterious illness.

"Creepy kids" have been done a number of times in cinema but what separates this latest entry from many that came before it is the feeling that these kids are still kids. Certainly disturbed and not totally themselves but not entirely evil. Cruel but not zombies, mind controlled or aliens. There is still fear and fragility, which makes them a lot scarier for viewers, especially parents.

Adding to the horror is that when the parents stand up for themselves against the kids, these acts of resistance are "unsatisfying" to us, unlike other movies of the genre. That is, you do remain conflicted as a viewer instead of the typical Hollywood trash. And *that* is what horror is about.

The story is good, well-paced with a suitably tensed escalation of the menace the children represent. The characters coping with this threat (a group of adults and a teenager) are believable instead of walking clichés.

On the downside, the movie has a definite low-budget feel to it. I was surprised that Tom Shankland would direct something like this after his previous work, the polished horror/thriller Waz. A low budget plus a lot of kid actors mean that corners were cut. The film would certainly have benefited from more takes. A lot more takes, in fact. The adult actors are underwhelming and the script could have used another pass or two to make it more compelling from start to end. There are still two or three very memorable sequences in the movie, such as the one following the first body's disappearance. But overall I think Shankland will cringe at a lot of scenes here. For instance, one character spends some great deal of time with a serious injury but the result on camera is completely unbelievable.

So what we are left with is an indie movie with a lot of heart and that does a lot of things well. It is extremely courageous in its treatment. It offers something good and refreshing. And it could have been a masterpiece with slightly more budget. I'm giving this a well-deserved 6.

As a complement to this film and to see the "other side of the coin", I strongly suggest watching Lars E. Jacobson's "Baby Blues" immediately before or after "The Children".

After so many good reviews I was pretty psyched to see The Children. Several times I'd seen it put on a par with "Eden Lake", which I thought was one of the most tense, horrifying, well-conceived horrors of recent times.

I must say it started out really promising. It looked like it was paying close attention to building atmosphere and establishing characters - which is a rarity these days. It was quiet and disturbing for the first half hour, not to mention beautifully shot. I was settling in nicely, absorbed into the character's little Christmas get-together, and pleasantly anticipating the start of the horror.

But then it really went off the rails fast. There was a sudden rapid-fire sequence of ill-conceived, unbelievable, almost "Rube-Goldbergian" death and injury scenes, followed by a bunch of hysterical characters who - if they weren't doing something downright stupid and frustrating - were instead doing something that just didn't make any sense.

I spent a good deal of the last half of the film turning to my significant other and saying "I don't get why that character just did that..." The characters motivations for even the simplest actions through the last half of the film seem so weak as to almost be alien. In fact, the evil "possessed" children were acting in a more understandable way than the apparently normal adults.

You can't excuse the way the adults in the film act by simply believing they are operating under extreme circumstances the way you can in movies like "Eden Lake". But you can explain it by shoddy, lazy writing. Most of the movies I've seen in recent weeks had okay screenplays but floundered on bad directing. This was the exact opposite - beautiful directing ruined by a really weak script.

Dangit I'd hoped this would be a good one. Oh well, onto the next...

The first 15 minutes set me on edge, the absentminded parenting, the whining annoyance of kids left run amok. Then the supposed weirdness starts. There are so many problematic elements of the adult functioning that watching this movie was difficult simply from these stupid choices, disbelief, and myopic perspectives. The movie does build well with the relentless creepiness of the children, but the mix bag of a movie left me uncertain about my enjoyment of it. Moments of feeling scared countered by frustration with the stupidity of the characters. The adolescent (or college aged) daughter was the only one able to see what was happening and make an choice that was sensible for the crazy situation.

Two families gather at a remote house for a Christmas and new year holiday. However, the young children affected by something in the woods, begin to turn on the adults.

I have to say, this movie was a welcome surprise. Written and directed by Tom Shankland (who made WAZ), and based on a story from Paul Andrew Williams (who made the recent horror The Cottage), The Children is a very well made movie.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed it was that it never explains why the children are doing what they are doing. It's suggested there is something in the woods to blame, but it is never fully explained. In a way this is similar to The Ruins, or even Rec and I liked that. Too many movies try to explain what is going on, but the better horror movies leave it open and I think this approach works better, as it does here.

The cast are all pretty good, with special mention given to Eva Sayer as one of the children, and Hannah Tointon as Casey the only teen in the group.

One of the clever things about this movie, and there are many things to like about it,is how the adults react as events get out of control. To begin with they are nice and friendly couples (the two women being sisters), but as the movie progresses, they turn on themselves as they refuse to accept what is happening. Of course by the time they do realise what is going on, it's much too late!

The movie is rated 15 in the UK, and does keep most of the violence off-screen, but it is creepy through-out, and Shankland keeps the tension and unease high, even when nothing has happened yet. And he stages some some impressive scenes, especially the first adult attack, involving a sledge, a trolley, with sharp items on it. It could almost come from a Final Destination movie!

And to top of everything, there is the ending. While not a truly bleak ending (although some may see it that way), it's a very, very creepy ending, and one I really didn't expect.

As horror movies go for this year, this is one of the best I've seen.

Being a Horror Film person I have seen them all and was not expecting much from the trash that is flushed out to us. But I'm pleased to tell you that this movie was a nice surprise. The plot was basic, the characters were believable, and the movie had a nice pace. To most the premise itself seems to have been done before but No it has not the way that this film does it. All is revealed in this film and the cause is actually believable. I would highly recommend this film to anyone that enjoys horror films. The people that got on to give this one a low score obviously know nothing about the genre and need to go rate movies like High school musical or Paul Blart the Mall Cop. Official Chickencow post unaffiliated with any Film Company

Saw a preview of this. Was worried that it would be a bit cheesy but it had me and my girlfriend on the edge of our seats. Really gripping and uses psychological rather than gore to scare. Very good for a British horror and has a kind of style and gloss that you usually associate with American films. Lead girl (the one from Hollyoaks) is fantastic and very cute and there are good turns from some excellent upcoming British actors. Jeremy Sheffield (the handsome one from Holby City) is excellent I'm surprised he has not been a leading man before. Story pitch is about a couple of middle class families with issues who meet up for Chistmas together. One of the kids seems to have a virus and over the holiday gradually the behaviour of the children starts to change as they become wild and feral and turn on their over anxious parents. For people with kids it's pretty uncomfortable and creepy, but if you've ever got fed up of those overly protective middle class parents who let their kids do whatever they want and can't control them, then this is good fun. I notice it's from the same director as WAZ, which was also a good film so it seems like he knows what he is doing and is one to watch in future.

The sounds of children wailing and screaming is tedious and enough to make you want to turn off this film and get yourself sterilised! Acting is good in places but the foley and after dubbing is plain painful, I wanted to invest myself in this film but could not. Dire!

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.

A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents. Ooooooh! Scarrry! Well, that's what you might think at first, but you'll suddenly regret saying that when you've watched the film. Seriously. In fact, your expectations for this film will be out of the radar when you find yourself jolting off of your seat, covering your eyes, and screaming profanity for all to hear!

That happened to me. I NEVER curse. Actually, I rarely curse. I've only cursed about five times in my whole short life. To see that I cursed out about ten words under my breath through the film is just AMAZING! This is not because characters are stupid, although some of them are. It's because the movie is basically a taboo. You see kids holding knives, kids killing people, parents killing kids, etc! It's a movie filled with what society taught us not to do!

And don't get me started on the tension. The film has some of the best build-ups in a WHILE. In fact, the very first "attack," we'll call it, is edited so well your heart gets racing a minute before the attacking starts! I must say, that's an incredible feat! And who would've thought kids are creepy? The amount of violence in here is also surprisingly high and I say that as a complement.

For a movie based around killer kids, you must have good, no, great, young actors to take these parts. You shan't be afraid. The kids in here are fantastic. The one that stuck out the most was Raffiella Brooks, an Amy Smart look-a-like, and probably the best acted kid in the group. The older people are also very good here.

Overall, it's a big surprise, of course. Just when you think your expectations are right, they get punched down one by one every minute that you watch this film. The film is genuinely creepy and has some great, nail-biting tension. However, it's ultimately forgettable the second the credits role. Still, it's a nice way to spend 80 minutes of your life.

Goddamn, is this film ever creepy as f*ck.

Ever thought about killing your kids when they p*ss you off? Well, what if they were trying to murder you, and you had no other choice?

I actually hated this little low budget horror-thriller, from the UK, at first. Because the first half is so saturated with the incessant screaming of pre-pubescent little bastards, that it is beyond annoying.

However, that is done with intention, as to put you on edge (and I'm sure this is much more effective with people who are actual parents...although parents might be endowed with a certain tolerance, from their years of exposure, that I lack).

Either way, by the end, it had completely won me over with it's overt creepiness, realistic gore, and general atmosphere of tension.

It starts off with a couple families of best friends getting together to spend the Christmas holidays together.

Everything starts off relatively banal, until the children contract an illness while playing out in the woods- when things start to take a darker turn.

Tantrums, and what could be attributed to an accidental death...quickly develop into full fledged murder...

What the children lack in stature and strength; they make up for with wit and utter remorselessness.

Leaving what ensues, one of the most realistic, and plausible, sequence of events that you can expect to find in a gory tension filled slasher.

The end is eerily similar to that of Vinyan, which was also released in 2008, and would qualify as being part of the same oeuvre.

Making this, not wholly original, but really quite effective.

Notable, particularly, for it's realism...it is definitely worth a watch!!!

7 out of 10.

So I'm a big horror junkie and I took a chance on this title (as some people have gone as far as rating it 10/10 on IMDb?????) I always TRUST IMDb so I spent (wasted) some hard-earned cash on hiring this flick. My friends and I had set aside a "scary movie evening" for which we prepared a dinner, and then after turned off all the lights to create a "scary" atmosphere. And then we pressed PLAY...

5 minutes into the film I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for being the one responsible for hiring this DVD: The sound was so bad that none of us could make out what they were saying. Okay, so it's a low-budget production. So we put the volume on 100% and we soldiered on, holding thumbs that it would get better. But it didn't. It just got worse and worse: No storyline, no plot, no intention whatsoever. Just loads of inadequate (and badly acted) crying and moaning. SO IRRITATING!!! It was really just a looped replay of: "Where's the child?" "Lets go find the child", "OK, found the child!" Somebody dies. Nobody cares. Evil child disappears. "Ok, Where's the child?".... and SO IT WENT ON AND ON AND ON IN CIRCLES. With some "horrifying" (pffft!!) close-ups of a germ/virus on a pillow (WTF?). No, seriously guys! What a LOAD OF RUBBISH.

So, I made it my mission to be kind and to make sure that I posted a review of this movie to save any curious body the agony of sitting through it... just for in case YOU might think it would be an evening of good entertainment. Please please don't bother. I could've shot a better movie in my back yard, on a cellphone camera.

This film was on my radar for a long time. Finally saw this few days back. This falls into the category of 'evil children' n this one came very close to one of my fav 'Who Can Kill a Child?' Tom Shankland's direction is top notch but I dont kno y he never did more films. His WdeltaZ was decent. The film has some very brutal n disturbing attack scenes. In fact, one thing I find very disturbing is any harm shown toward kids n this film has plenty of it that I turned my head away. The whole time I was trying to recollect wher I have seen the hot babe Rachel Shelley. Later aft reading I realised that she has acted in my fav oscar nominated Bollywood film Lagaan. Watch out for the scalp n the eye scene.

You can read the rest of the reviews for the basic synopsis of this movie (plz ignore the person who turned it OFF after only 30min and then called it garbage) -- I have not been more surprised by a movie I was expecting to suck in a long long long time. I started watching this thinking "oh yay another village of the damned!" and was expecting to laugh the entire movie. NOT QUITE!! The slow burning suspense of this movie is flawless as it sloowwwly makes the audience truly begin fearing these kids and are put in a constant anticipated state, wondering with giddy delight (if your a horror freak like me), or possibly biting ur nails to see what they'll do next.

Unlike "The Ring" where the stupid damn kid is supposed to be soooo scary and yet she just a dirty little dead girl -- if that girl came out of the television and sloowly started crawling toward me-- Ide kick her in the face and not think twice! LoL ---- But with "The Children" you actually feel the fear because you 100% totally understand why its hard for the parents to injure or kill their kids... or even simply be able to comprehend WTF IS HAPPENING around them -- Love the use of sound and was very impressed by quite a few of the nice camera angles used to enhance the suspense. The kids acting was spot-on perfect -- a lot of creeping standing around and giving creepy looks. A couple hot women in here as well, all excellent acting to fit the roles.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

Now this was awesome a British family is celebrating Christmas. It is supposed to be the happiest time of the year. But when their is a mysterious flu going around. The children are doing anything but spreading good chear. They are getting sicker by the second both mentally and phisically they are becoming violent and h...ostile to their parrents. Looking for a scapegoat they blame the eldest of the children. A seventeen year old girl who is not a girl but not yet a woman. The young lady is in holliday hell as she doesn't fit in with her family and is taking the blame for for her siblings and cousins horrifying behaviour. Including a horrificly gory sledding crash that leaves her uncle needing medical attention. Everyone is pegging her for a blacksheep when they should be watching the actual children, who are as crafty and as manipulative as they get. They have the wits of Kevin MacCalister and the soul of Damion Thorn. I really thought that this was a creepy and well made movie. I wish more people new about it. I was really blown away by the uncertain cross road that the film ends on. Because it really foreshadows that the worst is yet to come for the surviving characters. Absolutely stunning and bonechilling, a holliday horror classic for those who know about this film. 7/10