Who Can Kill a Child? (1976) ¿Quién puede matar a un niño? (original title)

Director:

Narciso Ibáñez Serrador

Writers:

Juan José Plans (novel)
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (screenplay)

Release Date:

June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Suddenly . . . They were the only adults left alive on the island.

Plot:

A couple of English tourists arrive on an island where all the children have gone crazy and are murdering the adults.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Island | Murder | Boat | Killer Child

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Lewis Fiander	...	Tom
Prunella Ransome	...	Evelyn
Antonio Iranzo	...	Father of Crying Girl
Miguel Narros	...	Guardacostas 1
María Luisa Arias		(as Mª Luisa Arias)
Marisa Porcel
Juan Cazalilla
Luis Ciges	...	Enrique Amorós - the Postman
Antonio Canal
Aparicio Rivero
Fabián Conde	...	Camera shop clerk
Andrès Gomez		(as Andrés Gómez)
Maria Druille	...	Child (Crying daughter)
Lourdes De La Camara	...	Child (Lourdes) (as Lourdes de la Cámara)
Roberto Nauta	...	Child
José Luis Romero	...	Child
Javier De La Camara	...	Child (Leader) (as Javier de la Cámara)
Marián Salgado	...	Child
Cristina Torres	...	Child
Luis Maleas	...	Child (as Luis Mateos)
Adela Blanco	...	Child
Juan Carlos Romero	...	Child
Julio Jesús Parra	...	Child
Carlos Parra	...	Child
Juan Antonio Balandín	...	Child
Pedro Balandín	...	Child
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador	...	Man next to bus (uncredited)

Directed by
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador

Writing credits
Juan José Plans		(novel "El juego de los niños")
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador		(screenplay) (as Luis Peñafiel)

Produced by
Manuel Salvador	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Waldo de los Ríos

Cinematography by
José Luis Alcaine

Film Editing by
Antonio Ramírez de Loaysa
Juan Serra

Art Direction by
Juan Gracia

Set Decoration by
Juan Alonso

Costume Design by
Carmen de la Casa

Makeup Department
Fernando Florido	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Julio Parra	....	unit production manager
Manuel Pérez	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mahnahén Velasco	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jose Antonio Arijita	....	sound assistant
Sebastián Cabezas	....	sound technician
Julio Calvo	....	sound assistant
Francisco Peramos	....	sound effects engineer

Special Effects by
Juan Antonio Balandín	....	special effects technician

Camera and Electrical Department
José Castedo	....	camera helper
Mariano Cárdenas	....	lighting technician
Federico G. Grau	....	still photographer

Other crew
Marisa Ibarra	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Penta Films

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1978) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Adria Filmverleih (1977) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Ambassador Film Distributors (1978) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Joy Pack Film (1977) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Manuel Salvador (1976) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Bildstörung (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Bird Entertainment (Japan) (VHS distributor)
• Culture Publishers (CP) (Japan) (DVD) (VHS releaser)
• Dark Sky Films (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2011) (UK) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2001) (Spain) (DVD)
• Nippon Columbia Co. Ltd. (Japan) (DVD distributor)
• Stingray (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) (1978) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• Estudios Cinearte  studio
• Tecnison S.A.  sound post-production
• Hispavox  music recording
• Macasoli  camera equipment provided by
• Story Film-Pablo Núñez  titles (as S. Film-Pablo Núñez)
• Sadilsa  grip and lighting equipment
• Cinegasa  transports
• Cornejo  wardrobe
• Mateos  props
• Luna  props
• Mengíbar  props

Also Known As:

"¿Quién puede matar a un niño?" - Spain (original title)
"Island of the Damned" - Canada (English title) (imdb display title), USA
"The Hex Massacre" - USA (reissue title)
"Trapped" - USA

Runtime:

107 min | Argentina:107 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Australia:90 min | USA:111 min (DVD)

Country:

Spain

Language:

English | Spanish | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Spain:18 | Iceland:(Banned) | Finland:(Banned) (1977) | UK:X (1976) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1982) (cut) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 (re-rating) (2003) (uncut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:18 (re-rating) (2009) | Italy:T (DVD) | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Almuñécar, Granada, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Penta Films

Trivia:

Even though the plot happens in an island, the town scenes were filmed in Ciruelos (Toledo), more than 250 miles away from the sea.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Tom sees the children using the old man's dead body as a piñata, but every time they strike him, his eyes and his face flinch.

Quotes:

Evelyn:What did the man of the pension tell you?
Tom:Just that something strange had happened to the kids on the island.
Evelyn:Strange... But what?
Tom:I don't know. Some sort of madness. I can't understand this.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Special Collector's Edition: ¿Quién puede matar a un niño? (#2.18)" (2011)

Children of the damned

While on vacation, a man and his pregnant wife visit an island that the former knows from his past. They arrive to find that the place is not how he remembered. In fact, it appears to be quite deserted aside from several children. It isn't too long before they come across an adult. Pity the kids get to him first, killing him and stringing his body up for use as a human piñata. You see, adults are no longer welcome on this island. At least not if they're still among the living.

For my money, "Who Can Kill a Child?" is a masterpiece of the genre. It makes other killer kid films look like jokes in comparison. Originally seeing it via the "Island of the Damned" cut, it's a very tense and unsettling film with some interesting socio-political subtext as relates to child violence. The likable main characters really struggle here, both physically and morally, in a picture as bleak as they come. It has such an impeccable mood and atmosphere to it. The closest comparison I can make is to that of Werner Herzog's short documentary, "La Soufrière". The isolated, disquieted feel of the island is very predominant.

It's unfortunate that director Serrador faded into the land of television after this film. He clearly had a lot to offer the genre.