Day two of Movieline's Halloween 25 delves into the ultimate taboo: children. Sure, everyone hates seeing children die, but sometimes they must. Sometimes they are evil. Sometimes your own survival depends on the death of a child! At least that's what horror movies have told us ever since the release of The Bad Seed in 1956. Today's films include mutant babies, talking teddy bears, an island full of murderous children and more! Read on for all of the overlooked gems in the "Terrible Child" sub-genre...
(As always, if I missed your favorite terrible child, feel free to comment.)
· The Innocents (1961)
Based on the Henry James Novella Turn of the Screw, The Innocents is easily one of the finest ghost movies ever made. Starring the late Deborah Kerr as a governess watching over two orphans who becomes convinced that their house is haunted, Jack Clayton's masterpiece gets under the viewer's skin by employing subtle tension, subjectivity and very effective, understated visual scares. That said, there's nothing understated about how creepy the kids get as the movie progresses. Or is it just that all Victorian-era kids are creepy? Watch the clip below and decide for yourself.
· Who Can Kill A Child? (1976)
First we see a group of children frolicking on the beach. It's all fun and games until you notice woman's corpse in the surf. Yep, it's bad news for the vacationing British couple who stumbles upon this island, which seems completely abandoned except for the creepy children. Once the couple realizes that these kids play piñata games with humans and not candy-stuffed toys, they must face the question posed by the film's title. This one is tense, exciting and extremely well-shot, with a doozy of an ending.
· The Brood (1979)
While he might have made more critically acclaimed and artistically challenging movies since, I'd argue that The Brood is the scariest, most intense and maybe most personal film in David Chronenberg's admittedly impressive oeuvre. The less you know going in, the better, but I'll say that it involves experimental therapy, creepy killer children, divorce, obsession, and jealousy, and that it hits almost as hard emotionally as it does viscerally. Also, don't watch the last 20 minutes while you're eating.
· The Pit (1981)
One of the best early-80's oddities I've ever seen. This one concerns an autistic boy who finds a pit in the forest inhabited by man eating creatures he calls "Tra-la-logs." Under instructions from his talking teddy bear, he starts feeding locals that wrong him to the pit. He is also in love with his babysitter. Like, staring-at-her-while-she-sleeps in love. The fact that the entire movie plays all of this with such a straight face makes for an experience that's hilarious, baffling and honestly a little creepy. This is my pick for the next so-bad-it's-good cult classic in the vein of Troll 2. Get on top of it now so you can say you saw it before it was cool!
· It's Alive (1974)
All that the Davies want is another child, but when Lenore gives birth, her offspring kills all of the doctors, escapes the hospital and goes on a killing rampage through the city. Directed by B-movie savant Larry Cohen, It's Alive is silly, scary, totally entertaining, and it packs in sharp satire about American families and big pharmaceutical corporations to boot.
PREVIOUSLY IN MOVIELINE'S HALLOWEEN 25
Monday: Vintage/B&W