Kick-Ass's Hit Girl, and 9 Other Controversial Cinematic Children Up to No Good
Esther, Orphan
Played By: Isabelle Fuhrman
Age: 9...or so it initially appears
Sociopathic Tendencies: After Joshua, children were apparently lining up to drive Vera Farmiga crazy. Esther does a number on her by trying to kill off and/or seduce various family members after Kate (Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) adopt her from the orphanage.
Success Level: 9. Esther has the wackiest backstory out of anyone on this list (she's really an adult posing as a child!) and she's got a long history of murders and seductions tucked under her neck ribbon. If the movie had let her get away with it -- and she did, in an alternate ending -- she would have easily nabbed a full 10 rating.
The Midwitch children, Village of the Damned
Age: 3
Sociopathic Tendencies: Conceived immaculately during a mass unconsciousness that befalls the village of Midwitch, the blond spawn grow quickly and use their mental powers to torture and kill adults.
Success Level: 4. They're taken down fairly easily, but that look has to merit style points.
Regan MacNeil, The Exorcist
Played By: Linda Blair
Age: 12
Sociopathic Tendencies: Before Hit Girl sparked tsk-tsks by dropping the c-word, the demon-possessed Regan was yelling profanities, spitting soup, and bloodily masturbating with a crucifix.
Success Level: 10. Almost 40 years later, this is still the frighteningly inappropriate high bar that no child actor will likely top.
Damien Thorn, The Omen
Played By: Harvey Stephens
Age: 5
Sociopathic Tendencies: Nannies, priests, unborn babies -- anyone is game for Damien to take out. He's the son of the Devil, after all.
Success Level: 8. Gets away with a lot, including the spawn of an entire film franchise.
Anthony Fremont, The Twilight Zone
Played By: Billy Mumy
Age: 6
Sociopathic Tendencies: Though he only appeared in one episode of television, Anthony Fremont casts a long shadow over his cinematic brethren. His monstrous powers allow him to keep all the adults in town prisoner, wishing dissidents "into the cornfield" or turning them into ghastly jack-in-the-boxes.
Success Level: 10. Like I'd dare give him any other score?
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Comments
Think you are forgetting a very important child in this list, Jodie Foster as Rynn, the 13 year-old murderess in The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. While not necessarily a sociopath, she manages to kill her mother, hide the body and get rid of evidence of the woman who knows her mother is dead, and out smart a pedophile into poisoning himself, all while the cops and several other people keep looking in on her. While she may not have the physical prowess of some of these others, she would definitely be able to out smart them all.
Great list but how about "Who Can Kill A Child?"
http://www.allmovie.com/work/who-can-kill-a-child-96806
Drew Barrymore, _Firestarter_
Children of the Corn!
Gage from Pet Cemetary... holy scalpel to the achilles!
Thanks for ruining the ending of Orphan! :/
Cool list. But, I think they missed a few.
Baby Selwyn - Dead-Alive
Zombie Baby - Redneck Zombies
Samantha Pringle - Deadly Friend
Danny Torrance - The Shining
Gage Creed - Pet Sematary
Oldboy - lots of children (and adults) up to no good. Plus its actually a better movie then all the above combined.
Bill Mumy reprised his character in a later episode, after the series received one of it's revamps, as an adult. He's still killing, and has his remaining family scared of him. He has a daughter (Played by Mumy's daughter), who has the same abilities, who does him off.
Always weird when you meet someone named Damien who was probably born after The Omen was released.
All of the kids in THE CHILDREN either the 70's version or the updated remake. In the original these kids are exposed to radiation and when they hold their parents they turn into burnt goo. In the remake they have an unidentified sickness and just kill all adults in sight - no child can be trusted.
Without Hit Girl,Kick Ass would be a flop.She made the movie.
There should be a sequil,"The Adventures Of Hit Girl"Hit Girl is,AWSOME !!!!!!
Great writing! Thank you.
Hit Girl definately deserves her own spin off
Im with you on that one. I have to say I like Lady gagas music but she is pretty crazy. Did you see she came 7th in the forbes list of world's most powerful women. lol brilliant!
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