Children of the Night (1985 TV Movie) User Reviews

"I'M GONNA SWEEP THOSE HOOKERS RIGHT OFFA' THE STREET..."

[myxedup · 5/10 · 15 August 2000]

Kathleen Quinlan as suburban do-gooder. She's on a mission to help run-away teens off of the streets, and into her over-crowded home. The taming of the wild street children proves quite a challenge.

Lots of teens-in-despair here. Lots of 80's fashions (hair, make-up, bracelets, Oh My)

Watchable only because the movie's musical theme is Pat Benatar's "Hell is for Children".

THEY CRY IN THE NIGHT

[mmthos · 5/10 · 25 October 2020]

Heartstring pulling docudrama-ish true story bout PHD candidate in sociology Laura Lee (Kathleen Quinlan, the type of role she's made for) pulling teen prostitutes off the streets while writing her dissertation on it. Course all this full-time, actually overtime, crusading ends up consuming her and destroys her long-time relationship with her boyfriend, leaving her alone with "her kids."

Quite strong stuff for network TV, must've run late. Concentrates mostly on one particularly hard case, Valerie (Lar Park-Lincoln) who suffers, literally, constant failed attempts at leaving "the life". Ms P-L is appropriately and admirably hysterical, in the sick psychological sense, frustrated not just with "the life" but Life, and how it's seemingly damaged her irreparably.

Mario Van Peebles is her suave, debonair pimp, living the high life while he sends his girls out on the street to degrade themselves for his benefit. He's always quick with an easy answer to excuse himself whenever confronted by Ms. Lee

Both sensitive and brutal, this is only for people with hearts and concern for their fellow men, women, and most of all, children., ..

Eighties trauma drama extraordinaire.

[jeff-150 · 22 May 2001]

I cant' believe I remember this movie all to well from back in 1985! It seems just like yesterday. Very gritty and very realistic. I remember being scared to death by this when I was a pre-teen. An excellent book called Seeing Through the Eighties by Jane Feuer references this movie several time. Excellent

What I think about this movie.

[fanofkim · 9/10 · 7 May 1999]

'Children of the Night' and 'Little Ladies of the Night' are both excellent movies. They show us what is really going on in the streets, and the fact that there are children that need homes and need to be loved. They both brought tears to my eyes.

Everything About the 80s Just Got Darker

[MierdaDeToro · 25 October 2009]

Here's a TV movie not unlike the ones ABC used to play after the 11:00 news. We begin with the lovely and talented Kathleen Quinlan as a sociology student exploring the lifestyles of teenage prostitutes as a topic for a dissertation. What begins as a homework assignment, so to speak, becomes so much more as she begins taking these girls off the streets and into her home. While many of these girls take well to Quinlan's actions, our main focus is shifted to Valerie...a whiny, misguided and downright stubborn malcontent who Quinlan ends up rescuing about three times in the film, replete with the textbook, 80s disciplinarian dialogue that makes TV movies TV movies. That this is a true story makes the film so much more genuine. The film itself is about 90% night time, so those who don't appreciate 80s night films (i.e. super-dark; unlike later in film-making where night is represented by blue light) may find themselves adjusting the brightness on their TV. Add 80s mainstay Mario Van Peebles, playing the pimp, Mr. Spanish; coupled with Pat Benetar's "Hell Is For Children" for inspiration (and the fact that Ms. Quinlan dons high heels throughout the entire movie...awesome), and you've got a pretty decent drama that makes you wish there were more of Quinlan's character out there. Oh, did I mention she wears high heels throughout the whole movie...?