[Yuletide Terrors] Day 16: THE CHILDREN

Throughout the month of December, we will be highlighting a film a day that has some tie into the holiday somehow. Some titles will be obvious, others won’t be. Some films will be good and, again, others won’t be. However, we think all titles are worth your time whether to give you chills inside your home or to make you drink more eggnog until you puke laughing.

This Christmas Casey (Hannah Tointon) and her two siblings are being dragged to their Aunt’s house. Which is a bummer because they live in the country, where there’s nothing to do and barely any cell reception. She’s also put out over how much the younger children are doted over. Especially when little Paulie gets sick. Asides from being extra whiny, Paulie starts acting odd. And pretty soon his sister and two cousins get sick too. The more symptoms the kids show the more erratic and sinister their behavior gets. How far will the children go and will their parents notice before it’s too late?

Released in 2008, The Children is not a movie I would suggest to new parents or anyone thinking of having kids. But it’s on my Nice list for Horror recommendations of the last decade. The build up of tension is done well, due in part to the audience being aware of what’s really happening while the adults are clueless. The child actors in this movie are incredible. Their performances bring a believability to their demonic behavior that’s frightening. And Hannah Tointon shines as the teen caught between adulthood and childhood. She yearns to be looked at like a grown up but craves the attention she had as a kid. Writer/director Tom Shankland came up with the idea while on a vacation with friends. Some had brought their kids along and he was amused/horrified at how little  they were able to control them.

The Children was released in the US straight to video in 2009. Distributed by Sam Raimi’s imprint Ghost House Underground, it may be the best title put out by them.  It is also available on Blu-Ray. This was my second time viewing it. And it holds up well. Maybe more so since I became an uncle.