Beware! Children at Play is a 1989 horror film

Horror film

Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 directed by Mik Cribben and distributed by Troma Entertainment

Troma Entertainment

Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...

.

Plot

The film follows the inhabitants of a small rural town whose children are disappearing at an alarming rate and whose adults are simultaneously being killed in a ritualistic fashion. It is revealed early on that the kids are being inducted into a cannibalistic cult that live in the woods.
The title is known mostly because of its brutal depictions of violence against children.

Reception

The film is one of Troma's most controversial titles due to its gruesome finale, a five-minute sequence where the townspeople brutally murder each of the cannibalistic children using firearms, pitchforks, and other assorted weapons. According to Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...

, when the film's trailer played at the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

 before a screening of Tromeo and Juliet

Tromeo and Juliet

Tromeo and Juliet is a 1996 independent transgressive comedy film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet from Troma Entertainment...

, nearly half of the theatre walked out in protest.

External links

• Beware! Children at Play at the Troma Entertainment
  Troma Entertainment
  Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...
  
  movie database