The Children (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
The Children is a 2008 British horror film
directed by Tom Shankland
and starring Eva Birthistle
.
and New Year
holiday degenerates into a fight for survival when the children start turning on their parents. At first the children begin demonstrating some irritability and odd behaviour, particularly staring off into space. A small series of incidents including the disappearance of the family pet, and a tragic "accident" eventually elevates into deliberately sadistic and homicidal activity on the children's part.
The privileged yuppie
parents, due to the psychological trauma of the brutality of the attacks and the horror of being stalked by their own children, are seemingly rendered highly irrational and incapable of effectively defending themselves.
The cause for the children's increasingly disturbed and psychotic behaviour is suggested to be the result of a non-specified sickness brought into the household by the youngest child. It does not apparently affect adults.
At the end of the film, teenage daughter Casey and her mother Elaine are escaping, when lots of other infected children begin to appear from the woods, approaching their car. As they drive off Casey begins to stare into space, leaving the viewer wondering whether or not she has become infected as well.
writer Phelim O'Neill said, "the violence is skilfully enough executed to make you think you see much more than you actually do and the fundamentally disturbing and creepy aspects about such random and unpredictable child-centric mayhem are always present, no matter how ludicrously intense and darkly humorous things get". He awarded the film four stars out of five.
, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 79% approval rating based on 14 reviews.
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 Tom Shankland
Tom Shankland
- Filmography :* The Children * WΔZ * Marple: The Moving Finger * Jericho * Family Business * No Night Is Too Long * Clocking Off * Going Down * Hearts and Bones * Bait * Bubbles - Awards :...
and starring Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle is an Irish actress, best known for her role in Ae Fond Kiss. She won the London Film Critics Circle British Actress of the Year award in 2004 and has twice won the IFTA Best Actress in a Leading Role award.-Biography:...
.
Cast
- Eva BirthistleEva BirthistleEva Birthistle is an Irish actress, best known for her role in Ae Fond Kiss. She won the London Film Critics Circle British Actress of the Year award in 2004 and has twice won the IFTA Best Actress in a Leading Role award.-Biography:...
as Elaine - Stephen Campbell MooreStephen Campbell MooreStephen Campbell Moore is an English actor, best known for his roles in the Alan Bennett play The History Boys and its subsequent film.-Career:...
as Jonah - Hannah TointonHannah TointonHannah Marie Tointon is an English actress. She is best known for playing Katy Fox in the long running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, and Tara in British sitcom The Inbetweeners.-Early life:...
as Casey - Eva SayerEva SayerEva Sayer is a British child actor. She is best known for playing Cindy Williams in EastEnders.-Career:She first appeared in one episode of the Inspector Morse spin off "Lewis" as Anna Mallory in early 2007....
as Miranda - William Howes as Paulie
- Rachel ShelleyRachel ShelleyRachel Shelley is an English actress and model. She was born in Swindon. , Los Angeles Daily News and graduated from Sheffield University with a B.A...
as Chloe - Jeremy Sheffield as Robbie
- Rafiella Brookes as Leah
- Jake Hathaway as Nicky
Plot
A ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
holiday degenerates into a fight for survival when the children start turning on their parents. At first the children begin demonstrating some irritability and odd behaviour, particularly staring off into space. A small series of incidents including the disappearance of the family pet, and a tragic "accident" eventually elevates into deliberately sadistic and homicidal activity on the children's part.
The privileged yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
parents, due to the psychological trauma of the brutality of the attacks and the horror of being stalked by their own children, are seemingly rendered highly irrational and incapable of effectively defending themselves.
The cause for the children's increasingly disturbed and psychotic behaviour is suggested to be the result of a non-specified sickness brought into the household by the youngest child. It does not apparently affect adults.
At the end of the film, teenage daughter Casey and her mother Elaine are escaping, when lots of other infected children begin to appear from the woods, approaching their car. As they drive off Casey begins to stare into space, leaving the viewer wondering whether or not she has become infected as well.
Critical
The film opened to generally positive reviews from UK critics. The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
writer Phelim O'Neill said, "the violence is skilfully enough executed to make you think you see much more than you actually do and the fundamentally disturbing and creepy aspects about such random and unpredictable child-centric mayhem are always present, no matter how ludicrously intense and darkly humorous things get". He awarded the film four stars out of five.
, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 79% approval rating based on 14 reviews.