A young English couple are vacationing on a Spanish island. Normally, this might be romantic, but in this film, the island is affected by an unexplained curse where the children have all turned murderous, even against their own parents. And there's no stopping them, because as the title asks, who can kill a child? I've run across numerous films of this era taking place on islands with not-so-pleasant happenings. Typically, the islands happen to be Greek ("Antropophagus" or "Island of Death", for example). So, this is a nice variation on a theme. There aren't many inhabitants beyond the children, but there's really no need for them in this story. The children are quite creepy, and were cast well. I am not personally scared of children (pedophobic?) but if I was, this one would give me the willies.
I've heard people say this film anticipates such later successes as "Child's Play", with the idea of child killers and how unnerving it is to have innocence turned against well-intentioned people. I don't see the connection. Far more obvious to me is the link between this and "Village of the Damned", as both clearly focus on children who share similar murderous mindsets and one man who is able to stop them (hopefully). If you liked "Village", you'll like this one.
While probably tame today, there are some scenes that come across as pushing the limits. Can you kill a child on screen? Can you kill several? What about a fetus that has turned evil and wishes to kill its mother, even if it means sacrificing itself? There's something really disturbing about that thought. (For those who are strongly pro-life, would you support abortion if the fetus was maliciously trying to kill the mother?) If I had one complaint, it would be the relatively slow pace of the film, at least at first. For about thirty minutes, I had some difficulty getting into the film. Maybe I'm too accustomed to today's fast-paced slaughter films. But regardless, after that half hour, I was in. And the excitement only escalates. There's no climax and then another twenty minutes of drag, my friend... it builds and builds until the movie ends. You'll be left wanting more, or at least wanting to see it again. This is a winner. (Thank you, Dark Sky Films.)
I've heard people say this film anticipates such later successes as "Child's Play", with the idea of child killers and how unnerving it is to have innocence turned against well-intentioned people. I don't see the connection. Far more obvious to me is the link between this and "Village of the Damned", as both clearly focus on children who share similar murderous mindsets and one man who is able to stop them (hopefully). If you liked "Village", you'll like this one.
While probably tame today, there are some scenes that come across as pushing the limits. Can you kill a child on screen? Can you kill several? What about a fetus that has turned evil and wishes to kill its mother, even if it means sacrificing itself? There's something really disturbing about that thought. (For those who are strongly pro-life, would you support abortion if the fetus was maliciously trying to kill the mother?) If I had one complaint, it would be the relatively slow pace of the film, at least at first. For about thirty minutes, I had some difficulty getting into the film. Maybe I'm too accustomed to today's fast-paced slaughter films. But regardless, after that half hour, I was in. And the excitement only escalates. There's no climax and then another twenty minutes of drag, my friend... it builds and builds until the movie ends. You'll be left wanting more, or at least wanting to see it again. This is a winner. (Thank you, Dark Sky Films.)