Instead, I'll be rolling out my favorites at a more leisurely pace, but also a more comprehensive one that includes music and TV this time around as well, which last year's articles did not. I've already made a master list of my fave albums, so I'll likely do that one first. As I've seen most- albeit not all (I may binge-watch a couple of others in the next week or so) - of the TV shows I would have included anyway, I'll probably do that one next.
After that, I'll finally get around to the movies of the year, no later than February- same as last year- all the better to tie in to the Oscars, which air on the 24th. (You can always read my Best Movies of 2017 lists in the interim, BTW, beginning here, continuing here, and concluding here.)
In the meantime, the new reviews will continue, and I might even finally make time for the long-overdue lists of my favorite current and up-and-coming British and American actresses. (I already did my favorite overall actresses here, and my fave non-British foreign actresses here, in case you missed them.)
Next up, though, another straggler from my Xmas horror watching marathon over the holidays, a look back at the British chiller, The Children!
Have you checked the children?
Maybe you should, cuz they're acting kind of mental. 👹
I had put off watching this one because I mistakenly thought it was a remake of the silly 80's horror flick of the same name, which it is not. Although the premises are similar, this movie is entirely its own beast, and a far cry from that fun-but-laughable flick I haven't seen in many a moon but have vaguely fond memories of.
(I watched it with a friend of mine and his little brother, who kept changing the channel back-and-forth because he got so scared by it, which led to us later tormenting the poor kid by chasing after him after "painting" our fingernails black via erasable Magic Markers and pretending to be radioactive, lol. His mom was not amused, as he didn't sleep for weeks, but we thought it was hilarious at the time. 😂)
Anyway, this particular film was released in 2008, just in time for the holidays, not so coincidentally. Taking place around New Years' Day, it tells the tale of an extended family going to spend some time with the sister of the mother of the group and her own family, post-Christmas.
The main characters are said mother, Elaine (Eva Birthistle, of Wake Wood, Brooklyn), her older, teenage daughter from another marriage, Casey (Hannah Tointon, Young, High & Dead, Penny Dreadful); Elaine's current husband, Jonah (Stephen Campbell Moore, The Bank Job, Season of the Witch); and her sister, Chloe (Rachel Shelley, Lighthouse, The Ghost Whisperer, The L-Word) and her husband, Robbie (Jeremy Sheffield, Safe Haven, Creep).
And then there are, of course, the children. They include Elaine's son and daughter with Jonah, Paulie (William Howes) and Miranda (Eva Sayer, The Turn of the Screw, another creepy kid tale); and Chloe's own son and daughter, Nicky (Jake Hathaway, The King's Speech) and Leah (Rafiella Brooks, Gulliver's Travels). No sooner have Elaine and company arrived than Paulie vomits on the lawn, which she attributes to his being carsick from the trip over. It's not.
While it never really is explained what is wrong with Paulie whatever it is causes him to start behaving strangely, and slowly but surely, the other kids as well, as he passes on whatever it is to the rest of them, one by one. As far as I can tell, it's a virus of some kind, as evidenced by the way the movie sometimes cuts to extreme close-up shots of bacteria (or whatever) from time to time.
Not long after, the children start to band together and begin to... let's say, plot things. After a certain point, the cat goes missing and it is implied that the kids had something to do with it. Soon after that, the kids implore Robbie to play with them in the snow, encouraging him to get on the sled and go down a hill. He agrees, and as he does, little Nicky strategically places a rake in his path, which cuts his head open and causes him to bleed out, eventually to death.
These "accidents" continue to escalate, and despite all evidence to the contrary, Chloe refuses to acknowledge that something nefarious is going on with the kids, turning sister against sister when Elaine is forced to make a Sophie's Choice to save her daughter against a marauding Paulie, who is going after Casey, clearly aiming to kill her.
Likewise, Elaine's own husband blames Casey for what's going on, refusing to allow that his daughter, Miranda, could possibly be "evil" and going off with Chloe to look for her kids, leaving an injured Elaine and Casey behind to fend for themselves, eventually locking the latter in a bedroom after knocking her out with a toy when she insists that Miranda is plotting against them.
Things escalate quickly from there on out, as the kids continue their reign of terror, and everyone concerned fights for their lives. You'd think a bunch of adults could fend for themselves against a small group of kids, but these are no ordinary kids, and like I said, half of the adults refuse to believe what's obviously happening, typically until it's all too late.
I should also mention that they are in an isolated house and somewhat trapped by a snowstorm, which isn't allowing for much in the way of help, despite repeated calls to that end to the paramedics and the cops once things start to go south.
They do have cars, though, but find out the hard way that that may not be enough to escape with their lives. After an action-packed conclusion, things continue to their inevitable end, with a twist revealing itself in the final moments, which I won't spoil here. Suffice it to say, it's not an altogether happy one in its implications.
The Children is ostensibly a Christmas movie, I suppose, even though it technically takes place after the holidays, in the period between that holiday and New Year's. However, the Christmas/New Year's aspects are so muted for the most part that you could really watch this one any time of the year. I guess the real question is: do you want to?
I suppose anyone with kids might flinch at seeing kids meeting grisly demises, but it might also make them wonder what they would do in a similar situation, as unlikely as it might seem. As such, if you have kids and can't stomach the idea of harm coming to them, even if it's warranted in this particular scenario, then you might want to skip this one.
If, on the other hand, you either don't have kids, or don't have any specific attachment to them one way or another, you might get a kick out of it. If anything, it might give one pause as to having kids in the first place. Forget contraception- just show someone this film, lol. (Come to think of it, maybe parents of teens should do just that and nip that whole "Teen Mom" thing in the bud!)
Although ostensibly a British film, the accents are pretty muted, perhaps on purpose, though they occasionally squeak through here and there. This is not to say the acting is bad, just that they likely wanted the film to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, much like how Canadian films often pretend to be American ones to reach a wider audience. (See also: My Bloody Valentine, Terror Train, Prom Night, Cronenberg's early output.)
As far as I can tell, it's never mentioned exactly where they are, in terms of the setting. But it's not that big of a deal, as the location is hardly the point. It's all about the scenario, and as plots go, this is firmly in Night of the Living Dead territory, which is to say, you are plopped right down into the beginning of an escalating situation without explanation- and I'm not sure we really need one, as with that film. It's a virus of some kind that makes kids act crazy- that's all we really need to know.
The end result is a taut, intense horror-thriller that may not make fans of people who adore kids, but will find a welcome home with those who tend to think they're up to something more often than not, whether you're a proud parent or not. Keep in mind the violence is somewhat extreme at times, and involves violence towards kids, not just the parents, so view accordingly to whether you think this would be your cup of tea or not.
I thought the cast was pretty excellent, adults and kids alike. I especially liked the dynamic between Elaine and her daughter, and I thought both Birthistle and Tointon were great in their roles. The latter is very cute- she was 21 at the time, settle down- and has only gotten more beautiful in the years since, with an impressive resume you can check out here. Here's a more current picture:
Although, it should be said that Eva Sayer, who plays Casey, is herself almost 21 now and is downright gorgeous. Too bad she hasn't done much since this and The Turn of the Screw, aside from a bit role in the movie The Death of Stalin in 2017. Someone should change that, as she showed real promise in her roles as a child.
Hell, if anything, she should try and parlay her childhood roles into some Scream Queen-type stuff- she'd hardly be the only Brit to go that route. (See also Olivia Cooke, Georgie Henley, Lucy Boynton, Karen Gillan, Janet Montgomery, etc.) Either way, she's a looker now, but I'll quit while I'm ahead before I start sounding like the creepy uncle in this movie, lol.
I thought The Children was a lot of fun, with some great set-pieces, solid direction and an impressively downbeat ending that makes you wish there was a follow-up, though I suspect if there was one, it might fall into the current trap of over-explaining things, so maybe it's just as well the writer/director, Tom Shankland, quit while he was ahead.
Shankland has gone on to a healthy career on TV, including directing episodes of The Leftovers, House of Cards, Luke Cage and The Punisher, plus all six episodes of the current TV adaption of the classic Les Miserables, with newly-minted Golden Globe winner Olivia Colman and personal fave Lily Collins, so he's doing alright for himself. I might also have to check out an earlier horror film he did, The Killing Gene, which features a pretty great cast as well.
You can probably figure out for yourself by the premise if you're going to like this one, but if creepy kid horror is your thing, you should dig it. It's a damn sight better than the 80's version, that's for sure! And, like I said, the holiday setting is just minor enough that it lends itself to watching anytime of the year, really, though winter is probably ideal, given the snowy climate on display.
Yes, the characters often do dumb things- it kind of comes with the territory in horror movies, unfortunately- but the payoff is pretty great and the cast, even the kids, are excellent, with some undeniably cringe-inducing scenes of violence that make this one really effective, no matter where you stand on kids on the whole.
By all means, check this one out! 👦👧👿👪💀
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