Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Prodigy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 24, 2019

“The Prodigy” is yet another attempt to master the Killer Kid subgenre of horror, trying to generate a fright film with a basic push to depict the corruption of innocence, making nastiness emerging from a wee one all the more disturbing. Typically, these endeavors swan dive into bad taste, aiming more for shock value than genuine scares, getting off on the concept of a child committing murder, with very little effort put into the rest of the production. Thankfully, “The Prodigy” isn’t ugly, going the supernatural route when detailing the rampage of an 8-year-old monster, whose body is being commanded by a fortysomething serial killer. Screenwriter Jeff Buhler (the “Pet Sematary” remake, the “Jacob’s Ladder” remake, and the upcoming “Grudge” remake) deserves some credit for keeping the movie less icky than its competition, but that doesn’t mean there’s a story to tell here. While it manages some faint level of restraint, the feature remains a fairly brain-dead viewing experience, while director Nicholas McCarthy (“The Pact,” “At the Devil’s Door”) doesn’t sharpen the potential for terror, keeping matters largely routine when it comes to jumps and jolts, which eventually take command of the snoozy picture.

Finally ready to have their first child together, Sarah (Taylor Schilling) and John (Peter Mooney) are delighted to bring young Miles (Jackson Robert Scott) into the world, hoping to start a happy, healthy family. While Miles works through his childhood development, he exhibits signs of genius, developing speech and intelligence at a rapid speed, which shocks his parents. Delighted with Miles’s smarts but unable to keep pace with his growth, Sarah is overwhelmed by her son’s capabilities, enrolling him in a school for the gifted. However, Miles has his dark side, displaying troubling behavior in his sleep and growing antagonism to others, which results in violence that his parents cannot explain. Fearing the child is touched with madness, Sarah offers Miles to Dr. Jacobson (Colm Feore), a hypnotherapist who’s well-versed in the world of reincarnation, suspecting the elementary school student is actually the container for the spirit of the feared Thrush Creek Killer (Paul Fauteux), a monster who isn’t finished taking lives, assuming control of Miles in his quest to kill again.

“The Prodigy” doesn’t hide Miles’s inner demon, exploring his move from killer to kid in the opening sequence, where Sarah’s birth experience takes place on the same night the Thrush Creek Killer is taken down, having just chopped off the hand of his latest victim inside his rural hideout. The monster travels into Miles, gifting the baby heterochromia for distinction and mature awareness of the world, allowing him to speak well before he’s expected to. Miles develops in a hurry, accepting shots without crying and mastering toys, with the writing picking up the tale as the child hits eight years of age, living a seemingly stable life with Sarah and John. “The Prodigy” soon examines the erosion of this suburban comfort, finding Miles playing malicious games with his babysitter and, more importantly, speaking Hungarian in his sleep, which, understandably, confuses the worried mother, who doesn’t know what to do with her precious one.

McCarthy tries to keep the feature unnerving, doing well with one visceral moment of glass-removing gore, but tension is lacking in “The Prodigy.” Buhler isn’t an inventive writer, and while logic shouldn’t be a priority for B-movie, the screenplay offers a particularly moronic scene where Miles, now enrolled in a special school for intelligent children, is bothered that a classmate won’t switch spots with him during a science experiment. The cursed child soon locates a pipe wrench and beats the rival with it while students and faculty look on. And yet, after such a brazen offering of mental instability, Sarah is still unsure about her child, going slo-mo with ideas on how to help Miles, though, in the real world, the kid would be sent away for a very long time. Buhler has the character back in public school in no time, avoiding any sense of consequences that might disrupt his string of scares, with most of these stings involving Sarah seeing the Thrush Creek Killer’s face on Miles’s body. There’s also some awfulness concerning the whereabouts of the family dog. In other hands, this turn of vicious behavior might play into the development of an intimidating psychological profile. For McCarthy, it’s just a chance to achieve a basic gross-out.

The Prodigy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation provides a clear view of the production achievements on "The Prodigy." The feature's cooler palette is explored with care, finding the autumnal mood with darker blues and grays, while some domestic highlights contribute livelier hues, communicating childhood innocence. Exteriors are distinct, finding greenery vivid and decoration appealing. Skintones are natural. Detail is precise throughout, securing facial surfaces and fibrous costuming, working with comfy cold weather wear and crisper uniforms. Distances are dimensional and interior design is sharp enough for examination. Delineation is comfortable, without solidification issues.

The Prodigy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't quite as wound up as most horror endeavors, but the basics in performance are handled accurately, finding dialogue exchanges crisp and communicative, exploring whispered concerns to louder yelps of fear. Scoring is exact, with clear instrumentation and ideal support, capturing suspenseful moods and softer domestic moments. Surrounds aren't lively, but they manage atmospherics adequately, securing a feel for outdoor expanse and interior creep, while a few nightmare moments generate circular pressure. Sound effects are defined to satisfaction. Low-end isn't excitable, but some heaviness is felt with scenes of violence.

The Prodigy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Nicholas McCarthy.

• Promotional Featurettes (all HD) offer "Story" (1:26), "Genre" (1:39), and "Miles" (:55). There's nothing of substance here, with cast and crew interviews (conducted on-set) in pure used car salesman mode, discussing how "amazing" everything is and how "amazing" the performers are.

• Gallery (:15) is a small collection of BTS snaps and film stills.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:32, HD) is included.

The Prodigy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's unfinished business in "The Prodigy," finding John the victim of abuse in his own life, with Miles using that information against his father, twisting heated concern into potential threat. The subplot gives off the impression it was part of a larger concept of Miles's manipulation, but it plays awkwardly in the finished film, finding John crudely dismissed from the story in the second act. There's potential with Dr. Jacobson and his invasive therapy, but suspense isn't pursued, as Buhler goes for an "Exorcist"-style bump of vulgarity from Miles instead, keeping the boy in command through verbal threats. And there's Sarah, with Schilling forced to play a mother with a full view of her child's problems, and yet remain in a state of doubt, extending the plot as far as it can go before action is introduced. Schilling's better than the material, and it's difficult to believe the character's ambivalence about Miles's behavior, especially after, you know, the whole public beating with the pipe wrench. "The Prodigy" eventually delivers its ultimate direction with the Thrush Creek Killer business, but there's not a nail-biting build-up to the payoff, which goes for the obvious resolution, not the smartest one. If Schilling can't work up the energy to believe anything that's going on, why should the viewer?