Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Children Blu-ray Movie Review

You might never look at your children in the same light.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner October 8, 2009

Ghost House Underground is a production company established by Sam Raimi (director of Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell, The Spiderman Trilogy and many more) and Rob Tapert (producing partner on most Sam Raimi films) to help promote independent horror films from up-and-coming directors in the genre. Established in 2007, the label has released a total of eight films up through September of 2009, averaging four horror releases per year. For 2009, the prolific filmmaking duo has hand-selected four new entries that mark the production company’s initial foray into the Blu-ray format. Not that I’m going in any specific order, but my last review from the series is an innocent coming-of-age tale about a group of children. Just kidding… The film is actually a parent’s worst nightmare, depicting several children who plot various ways of offing their parents over the Christmas holiday. I don’t typically find the idea of murderous children all that scary, but I might think twice before going sledding around kids this winter.

That looks like an inviting playhouse...

Looking for an escape from their everyday lives, Elaine (Eva Birthistle) and Jonah (Steven Campbell Moore) head out of town for the holidays to the beautiful country estate of Elaine’s sister Chloe (Rachel Shelley) and her husband Robbie (Jeremy Sheffield). It would seem like the ideal scenario, since both couples have two young children who can spend the weekend playing in the snow together, but upon the family’s arrival, the children exhibit bouts of vomiting and flu-like symptoms. The parents pass it off as a fleeting sickness, but it soon becomes apparent there’s much more to the story. Lashing out with screaming tirades, the youngsters appear to be possessed by something lurking in the surrounding forest. The first person to suspect a problem is Elaine and Jonah’s rebellious teenage daughter Casey (Hannah Tointon), who quickly discovers the children are out for blood. Up against parents who refuse to believe their children are turning into monsters, Casey is forced to take action if she hopes to save her family from the playfully murderous tikes.

I’ve never quite understood the fascination with horror films that feature children as the main antagonist. The inherent innocence at a young age certainly plays a shock-value role in films of this nature, but there’s something about kids with cutlery that makes me fear more for THEIR safety than mine. In fact, I’d wager most kids don’t even have the strength to plunge a kitchen knife below skin level, making it almost laughable when Elaine is attacked by her four-year-old son. Don’t get me wrong, the film certainly started off with potential. The first killing involves the inventive use of a sled and garden fork, showing the children are capable of putting together a collaborative plot to off the adults, but from that point forward the attacks take a sad dip into slasher territory. I’m not sure how many of you remember The Good Son with Macaulay Culkin and a young Elijah Wood, but the reason I enjoyed that film (I’m probably in the minority on that statement) is because the danger mostly involved clever attacks from one child to another. Personally, that scenario is more believable than one where the parents are in danger.

The other aspect of The Children that seems a bit contrived is the pervasive belief on the part of the parents that their perfect little children aren’t responsible for the dastardly deeds that take place. The plot is structured in a way that sets Casey (the teenage daughter) up for the blame, in an attempt to drag out the youngster’s ability to do harm. Unfortunately, the parents end up looking extremely stupid by basically resigning themselves to whatever fate the kids choose for them. In fact, there’s a scene late in the film where one parent chooses to put down her weapon rather than protect herself against the little demons. Perhaps a scene like that plays more to the parents in the crowd, but I can’t imagine many people witnessing what these kids are capable of and still viewing them as innocent little children.

At this point, you’re probably wondering why I still gave the film a decent score after harping on all of its flaws. The reason for the discrepancy lies in the fact that The Children is still an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes, and offers horror fans something less conventional than another Hollywood remake. Digging into the good stuff, the child actors are top-notch, the holiday setting establishes a perfect mood for the mayhem that follows, and the cinematography effectively ratchets up the tension as the film progresses (at least I can say the ending caught me by surprise). Director Tom Shankland shows potential if he chooses to stay in the horror genre, but I hope his next directorial effort involves someone or something that’s actually frightening.

The Children Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 18Mbps), The Children delivers a decent yet unremarkable visual experience. The first thing you'll notice about the opening scene in the film is the overly-saturated color scheme. Reds, yellows, blues and greens all appear extremely bright against the white backdrop of the country estate. The color spectrum certainly matches the cheerful setting the filmmakers intended to create, but it also leads to a slight loss of black level depth. Contrast still appears strong despite the bright nature of the picture, allowing even the finest of details to emerge from the shadows. Regarding the overall level of fine-object detail, the transfer contains a reasonable level of clarity that never blew me away, but manages to remain consistent through the duration of the film. For example, look for the appearance of facial textures or the designs of fabric on sweaters, and you'll notice there's a degree of softness that obscures the finest details. The picture quality still appears smooth and film-like, but just be aware this won't stack up next to the best high-definition transfers.

The Children Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There's a certain shift my mind has to go through when I watch a production with UK actors. Perhaps it's the thick accents, or the subtle differences in the English language that Americans aren't accustomed to, but I found myself straining to make out the dialogue through the first fifteen minutes or so. Unfortunately, a compounding factor in my difficulty with the dialogue is a tendency for the speaking parts to lack a bit of distinction. I wouldn't go so far as to say they registered on the flat side, but there seemed to be an issue with the volume balance (I can assure you I had the film cranked up). Thankfully, the dialogue-heavy portion of the film subsides by the half-hour mark, replaced with the shrill screams of maniacal children and shouting adults. During the remaining runtime, the volume balance is perfectly in check, delivering one rousing sequence after another. I was quite pleased with the use of rear surrounds to generate a robust feel to the track, and the incorporation of music really adds to overall entertainment experience. One minute you'll feel completely disarmed by a happy Christmas-themed song, only to be bombarded in the next moment with a sense of dread (as a cute little four year old turns around with blood-drenched sleeves). Considering the horrific nature of the film itself, this is definitely an effective audio experience.

The Children Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Making of The Children (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 19:34 min): This featurette contains brief explanatory clips with the director or members of the crew, who describe what they're preparing for in an upcoming scene. After we have an idea what's going on, we're shown video clips of the actual film shoot (bringing everything together). If you're interested in filmmaking, there's a lot to like about this extra.

Deleted Scenes (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 6 min): The first scene removed from the film shows Robbie and Chloe discovering the family dog's lifeless body in the middle of the living room (likely meant to be the first act of violence from the children). The second scene is an extended version of Jonah's decision to leave the estate. Coming in last, we have an extended final shot that doesn't add or detract from the ending.

Working with the Children (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 5:04 min): This is a fun extra, since it introduces us to the young kids in the film and features interviews with the adult actors and director (describing what it was like to work on a movie of this type with such young actors).

Shooting on Location (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 3:41 min): Director Tom Shankland discusses his choice for the location of the film and we're introduced to the family that actually owns the beautiful house.

Paul Hyett Talks Prosthetics (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 4:54 min): The special make-up effects designer is interviewed regarding the gruesome scenes in the film.

Snow Set Design (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 6:31 min): The film was shot in a location devoid of snow, so the director hired a two-man company to come in and blow a compound (mixture of paper and wood products) across the various sets used in the film.

Inside Tom Shankland's On Set Lair (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 8:21 min): Shacking up at a local cottage, director Tom Shankland provides a tour of his room, which he filled with inspirational pictures and plans for the film.

Rounding out the extras, there's a standard definition trailer for The Children, a video collection promoting the Ghost House film series (standard definition), and theatrical trailers for other Lionsgate releases.

The Children Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Children presents an interesting concept that will likely divide audiences. I went into the film hoping for a creative plot full of inventive traps from the playful monsters, but came away with a general feeling of disappointment in the lack of true suspense. After all, how many scares can be generated by little tikes with sharp objects? Perhaps parents will have a different perspective on the level of tension (as they question what they would do if placed in such a precarious position), but this reviewer would have no problem wrestling a knife away from a child. In the end, The Children is an interesting film to watch on one occasion, but not something I intend to revisit in the future.