Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Celia: Child of Terror Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 27, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as a part of All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror.

All the Haunts Be Ours advertises itself as "the most comprehensive collection of its kind", which may initially beg the question as to "kind of what?". But the release also comes with a front cover sobriquet proclaiming it "a compendium of folk horror", which may then beg the next obvious question as to what exactly "folk horror" is. In that regard, this set begins with a fascinating and diverse documentary which has its own subtitle referencing folk horror, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, which provides a veritable glut of clips from international films which director (and this entire set's guiding light) Kier-La Janisse has assembled to help define the genre, but perhaps the best answer is to simply echo a certain Supreme Court Justice named Potter Stewart who was trying to decide a case involving supposed pornography, and who famously opined, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description, and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it. . ."

Celia, Child of Terror has a title and a lead actress in the form of Rebecca Smart playing the titular character both of which may kind of unavoidably recall The Bad Seed and the memorable Patty McCormack. Interestingly, though, and especially in light of how the film was evidently marketed, Celia is not in fact a serial killer, or at least not the kind that Rhoda Penmark was. Instead in a very real way Celia is a victim in this film, and if ultimately she chooses to "reach out and touch" who she perceives to be her tormentors, Celia, Child of Terror kind of insinuates that they may have deserved it.

The film begins with Celia discovering her beloved Grandmother has died, and elements of this situation then kind of strangely echo the memorable Long Distance Call episode in The Twilight Zone: Season 2, wherein a tot sized Billy Mumy played a character named Billy who spoke with his dead grandmother via a toy telephone. In this case, Celia may actually not want to interact with her deceased relative, since Grandma keeps showing up as a kind of spectral wraith outside Celia's bedroom window at night.

Playing into the family dynamics are several patently odd subplots. Celia desperately wants a pet rabbit, something she ultimately attains, at least for a little while, while Celia's martinet father Ray (Nicholas Eadie) forbids Celia to play with the new neighborhood children since their parents are self-avowed Communists. And in fact Communism seems to be a rather potent sociopolitical element to the tale, as odd as it may sound, in a plot point that frankly may resonate more strongly with Australians who may have experienced Australia's history with the movement, though if my admittedly very cursory reading about the party's background in Australia is any indication, it seems like the movement had pretty much petered out by the late eighties. In any case, perhaps more viscerally, Celia finds herself alternately bullied and bullying, as so often seems to be the case, with some pseudo-supernatural tones suffusing things courtesy of some "magical" rites the kids enact to keep those pesky parental types in check.

This is another entry in All the Haunts Be Ours where the "folk horror" elements may be debatable for some, but where a really disturbing quality is achieved, one way or the other. Part of that may be due to the frankly horrifying way Australia evidently took care of a rabbit overpopulation, something which evidently bothered them more than rabble rousing Communists.

Celia: Child of Terror Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Celia, Child of Terror is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Severin's insert booklet offers only a brief "restored in 2K from original camera negative" mention. A glut of well lit, often bright outdoor, sequences help to support one of this transfer's chief assets, a really nicely saturated palette. Detail levels are typically excellent as well, and fine detail on things like Celia's pet bunny's fur generally are rendered precisely. Some of the stylistic choices, like a couple of sequences bathed in almost deep cobalt blues with the kids up to no good in a quarry don't quite muster the same levels of clarity and detail. Minor damage in the form of occasional nicks and scratches remain. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Celia: Child of Terror Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Celia, Child of Terror features a nicely expressive DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track, though the film really doesn't exploit some of the over the top sound design that some other films in All the Haunts Be Ours do on occasion. Instead, a more naturalistic environment is offered, and the prevalence of outdoor material affords good opportunities for realistic ambient environmental effects. Chris Neal's score is also rendered without any issues, and dialogue comes through cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Celia: Child of Terror Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Celia and Me (HD; 39:43) is a Zoom interview with director Ann Turner.


• From Crawfords to Celia (HD; 17:04) is an interview with editor Ken Sallows.


• The Rabbit in Australia (HD*; 23:49) comes with a warning that the violence against rabbits in this piece is not simulated, so forewarned is fore-horrified.

*720

Celia: Child of Terror Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some fans may remember that not only did the film version of The Bad Seed significantly change the ending from the original stage play, insult was perhaps added to injury by having an admittedly kind of funny closing credits sequence featuring Rhoda Penmark finally getting the spanking she had so clearly deserved for so long. In that regard, Celia, Child of Terror kind of takes the opposite tack, as if it to suggest taking a little girl's rabbit may justify homicide, among other "harmless" children's games. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements very appealing. Recommended.