There´s Something Wrong With The Children

There is no question to why children can light up any day, no matter how bad your day have been. You get to laugh over their thoughts, ideas and you might also get inspired since children are very good at finding creativity in a lot of things that they do. I am a proud uncle to a 3 year old and i have made a promise to him, that one day we will visit Belgium together to see the Jean-Claude Van Damme statue in Brussels. When he is a little bit older i will personally show him all the Van Damme classics so he is prepared for our Belgium trip. We will of course wear Van Damme tshirts, pose with Van Damme fists so we will be the coolest guys in town. This is a really good way to develope children, bringing in the knowledge of Van Damme classics. Who knows, he might even be inspired to try some Van Damme kicks? You see, i am the best uncle ever. Speaking of children there are a lot of movies that takes on the subject of kids in many different situations. I especially find movies interesting that takes on the horror genre and have children included, that´s a combination that requires a story that works with children included. One of the films i am especially thinking about that i really appreciated, is the 2008 British horror film The Children from director Tom Shankland. This is a very effective horror film that especially focuses on what children can do when you least expect it. The film takes place during a Christmas vacation where families are supposed to enjoy themselves, but it all ends in a complete nightmare. Director Tom Shankland used simple but effective horror elements to make this film work, and adding children into the mix made the horror scenes even more fun. If you have not seen it pick up a DVD or Blu Ray copy online today. Since last year i read about a new horror film that included children that is called There´s Something Wrong With The Children. When ever i see a horror film that especially includes children i am definetely interesting, since you never know if you will be surprised. I did not see any trailer of this film just to know as little as possible .Is this a horror film that will please the horror community in general, or is There´s Something Wrong With The Children one of the worst films i have seen this year?

Margaret ( Alisha Wainwright ) and Ben ( Zach Gilford ) take a weekend at a cabin with longtime friends Ellie ( Amanda Crew ) and Thomas ( Carlos Santos ) and their two young children, Lucy ( Briella Guiza ) and Spencer ( David Mattle ). As they all explore nature they discover an old building where the children especially feel interested in a deep hole in the ground. Margaret suggests that she and Ben can babysit one night so Ellie can have some time with her husband Thomas. The kids sleep over at Margaret´s cabin and everything seems alright, until the next morning. The kids are not in their beds and their shoes are not there. They seem to have taken off during night as Ben look for them. They do show up later, but they seem to behave differently than yesterday.

One of the things i think this film does correctly from the early parts of the film is to show how friends who have known each other a very long time, see their lives change completely since they become parents. We have discussions among these friends and how life is different from their past, and it´s of course natural since parenthood changes everything. Once this film switches track and fouses on the children, this is where this film becomes interesting. What happened to the children to change their behavior? Are they not who they used to be or did something change their personalities? Interesting premise for a horror film and for the most part this film actually surprised me. There are a couple of predictable pieces found along the way but i can accept that. Since we all know that children are vulnerable in a lot of different situations, this film clearly thought about that and especially make it very clear when it comes to heights. There is a scene that will clearly show that and there is a connection to a specific location what made the kids suddenly change. The acting is actually pretty good from basically the whole cast, but i have to say that the children actors Briella Guiza and David Mattle are the real shining stars of this film. Their chemistry and timing in both dialogue, body language and facial expressions, it all matches so well on the big screen. I love to see children actors who really take their role seriously and actually knows how to act in front of a camera, and these two young actors do a wonderful job. Fans of TV series Friday Night Lights will definetely recognize actor Zach Gilford here playing the character Ben. I wasn´t really a big fan of him in Friday Night Lights but i definetely think he does a much better performance in this film. If he continue to improve his acting skills as he clearly did in this film, i would love to see him in a very strong destructive drama story. The most interesting adult character is Margaret Winslow, played by actress Alisha Wainwright ( who you might recognize from Netflix TV series Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments ). You can tell she have a lot on her mind if she wants to start a family or not, and i really feel that Alisha bring out a female character that a lot of women can relate to. The horror elements surrounding the children works better than i expected and i almost got vibes from the children in the original Children Of The Corn film from 1984. There is a big difference between these films when it comes to why these children are evil, but the evil tone of Children Of The Corn is definetely in this film as well. There´s Something Wrong With The Children shows that you can never trust children completely, because you never know what they are capable of. They may look sweet and innocent but underneath the surface they may be a darkness that you didn´t expect to find. Director Roxanne Banjamin ( director of the great independent film Body At Brighton Rock, worth checking out ) deliver a child horror film that will be appreciated by parents, or family members with children around them who might begin to wonder what their children are capable of. If you are a horror fan, i have a feeling you will appreciate There´s Something Wrong With The Children for exposing a different perspective on parenthood and children. Especially if you are planning to babysit in the future, then this is definetely the film you should see. 

Rating: DDD