The Plague (2006) (V)

Director:

Hal Masonberg

Writers (WGA):

Hal Masonberg (written by) &
Teal Minton (written by)

Release Date:

5 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

And the children shall lead them ...

Plot:

Ten years have passed since the world's children fell into a coma. Tonight they're waking up and all hell is breaking loose. An unholy battle between the generations is being waged, and time is not on the side of adults.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Coma | Prison | Shot In The Head | Blood On Shirt

Cast

James Van Der Beek	...	Tom Russell
Ivana Milicevic	...	Jean Raynor
Brad Hunt	...	Sam Raynor
Joshua Close	...	Kip (as Josh Close)
John P. Connolly	...	Sheriff Cal Stewart (as John Connolly)
Dee Wallace	...	Nora
Brittany Scobie	...	Claire
Bradley Sawatzky	...	deputy Nathan Burgandy
Jon Ted Wynne	...	Dr. Jenkins
Arne MacPherson	...	David
Gene Pyrz	...	Jim
Genevieve Pelletier	...	Nurse Daniels
Chad Panting	...	Eric Russell
David Stuart Evans	...	Intern (as David Evans)
Jan Skene	...	Nurse Hansen
Graham Mayes	...	Jimbo
Katlin Mathison	...	Red shirt boy
Hilary Carroll	...	Alexis (as Hillary Carroll)
Curtis Moore	...	Anchorman
Miriam Smith	...	Talk show host
Jason Mitchell	...	Bob Dole
Jennifer Pudavick	...	Death by Sam (as Jenny Pudavick)
Sean Skene	...	Wrecking ball
Dan Skene	...	Death by Sam (as Daniel Skene)
Henry Quach	...	Drop Zone / Cagney
Jacqueline Loewen	...	Lacy
Garth Merkeley	...	Human Boy
Kathryn Kuzyk	...	Young girl
Chuck Robinson	...	Security Guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Allan Wallace Dunkeld	...	Cujo Rocks
Matthew J. Kok	...	Zombie Child (uncredited)
Mandi Maxwell	...	Coma Kid (uncredited)
Andrea Shawcross	...	Nurse #2 (uncredited)

Directed by
Hal Masonberg

Writing credits (WGA)
Hal Masonberg		(written by) &
Teal Minton		(written by)

Produced by
Michael Almog	....	executive producer
Clive Barker	....	producer
Rob Cacy	....	associate producer
Joe Daley	....	executive producer (as Joseph Daley)
Anthony DiBlasi	....	executive producer
Anthony DiBlasi	....	producer
Hartley Gorenstein	....	line producer
Corey May	....	executive producer
Matt Milich	....	producer
Tim O'Hair	....	producer
Jorge Saralegui	....	producer
Chris Sievernich	....	executive producer
Zach Tabacco	....	associate producer
M. Dooma Wendschuh	....	executive producer
Martin Wiley	....	producer

Cinematography by
Bill Butler

Film Editing by
Ed Marx

Art Direction by
Katharina Stieffenhofer

Costume Design by
Linda Madden

Makeup Department
Heidi Armstrong	....	assistant makeup artist
Pamela M. Athayde	....	key makeup artist
Shelly Bargenda	....	assistant hair stylist
Lori Caputi	....	key hair stylist
Frances Hans	....	assistant makeup artist
Paul Jones	....	special makeup designer
Cindy E. Smith	....	daily makeup (as Cindy Smith)

Production Management
Hartley Gorenstein	....	production manager
Dale Tanguay	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Megan Basaraba	....	second assistant director
Anthony DiBlasi	....	second unit director
Teal Minton	....	second unit director
Ronaldo Nacionales	....	first assistant director
Carole O'Brien	....	third assistant director
Markian Saray	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Brian Barnhart	....	props crew
Lloyd Brandson	....	key scenic artist
Jason Gibbs	....	property master
Chad Giesbrecht	....	dresser
Robert Kestler	....	on-set dresser
Bill MacInnis	....	lead dresser
Allan McGowan	....	set dresser
Michelle Realba	....	dresser: intern
Chris Roznowsky	....	assistant property master
Bill Sinosich	....	construction coordinator
Larry Spittle	....	daily property master
Larry Van Went	....	props builder
Jonathan Van Winkle	....	graphic artist

Sound Department
George Addis	....	location sound assistant
Jason Freedman	....	supervising sound editor
Chris Julian Irwin	....	foley artist
Chris Julian Irwin	....	foley mixer
Chris Julian	....	sound post-production
Tara Paul	....	sound re-recording mixer
Harry E. Snodgrass	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Tim J. Langevin	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
J.D. Disalvatore	....	visual effects producer
Chris Hopkins	....	visual effects lead compositor
Julie Jang	....	compositor
Zachary Lo	....	compositor
Dale Tanguay	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Allan Wallace Dunkeld	....	stunt performer
Matt Kippen	....	stunt double: Sam
Jacqueline Loewen	....	stunts: teen
Henry Quach	....	stunt performer
Chuck Robinson	....	stunt coordinator
Sam Robinson	....	stunt double
Dan Skene	....	stunt performer
Jan Skene	....	stunt double
Rick Skene	....	stunt coordinator
Rick Skene	....	stunt driver
Sean Skene	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Donnie Armstrong	....	key grip
Tom Barak	....	grip
Tim Connell	....	daily second assistant camera
Richard Falk Jr.	....	electrician (as Richard Falk)
Aaron Floresco	....	grip
Allen Fraser	....	still photographer
Marlin Greyeyes	....	electrician
Andrea Hardy	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Robert Katz	....	second assistant camera
Doug Kiddell	....	electrician
Barry Kraft	....	rigging gaffer
Ron Makwich	....	grip
Aaron Mallin	....	camera trainee
Laurence Mardon	....	gaffer
Jim McNulty	....	generator operator
Paul McWhinney	....	grip
W. James Meagher	....	electrician
Jeremy Milmine	....	best boy electric
Steve Morrison	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Reil Munro	....	grip
Julian Saray	....	best boy grip
Claude Savard	....	Steadicam operator
Claude Savard	....	camera operator
Rodrigo Seradilla	....	grip
Paul Sigurdson	....	first assistant camera (as Einar Paul Sigurdson)
Steve Sirski	....	grip
Paul Suderman	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Tineka Becker	....	casting associate
Jim Heber	....	casting: Winnepeg
Patricia Kress	....	extras casting assistant
Patricia Kress	....	extras casting
Joey Ritche	....	casting assistant
Lori Stefaniuk	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nadine Falk	....	costume assistant
Patricia J. Henderson	....	costumer
Lauren Martin	....	set costumer
Lauren D. Martin	....	set costumer
Heather Neale	....	truck costumer
Julie Pedersen	....	costume assistant
Yvonne Rempel	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Victoria Llerena	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Nicholas O'Toole	....	music scoring engineer
Sherry Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Tony Belliveau	....	unit driver
Julia Diana Cereceda	....	driver
Elizabeth Chodor	....	unit driver
Isaac Friesen	....	driver: honeywagon
Ron Gobeil	....	unit driver
Brian 'Shaky' Johnson	....	transportation coordinator
Brenda Kennedy	....	unit driver
Daniel Knight	....	unit driver
Malcolm Koval	....	unit driver
Kerry Martinson	....	unit driver
William McDougall	....	unit driver
Steve McGuire	....	driver: cast
Edgar Ozolins	....	unit driver
Chris Ralcewicz	....	picture vehicle
William Ridgwell	....	unit driver
Franklin Swark	....	driver: honeywagon
Timothy Vincent	....	unit driver
David Wharry	....	unit driver

Other crew
Lindsay Affleck	....	set production assistant
Michael Barnes	....	legal services
Dave Brown	....	firearms safety coordinator
Michael Chirsky	....	assistant production coordinator
Paul Courchaine	....	first assistant accountant
Michael Cowles	....	location manager
Laurel Hogan	....	clearance
Andrea Hutchison	....	production coordinator
Ross Ikeda	....	post production accountant
Tanya Mazur	....	script supervisor
Celene Miles	....	accounting clerk
Ryan Potvin	....	assistant location manager
Adam W. Rosen	....	legal services
RoseAnna Schick	....	unit publicist
Steve St. Louis	....	location scout
Rebecca Traub	....	extras wrangler
Michelle Walker	....	key craft service
Sheila Woodley	....	head accountant

Production Companies

• Armada Pictures
• D.H. Blair Film Capital Fund
• Midnight Picture Show
• Sekretagent Productions

Distributors

• Screen Gems (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• NoShame Films (2006) (Italy) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD) (as "Clive Barker's The Plague")
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Paul Jones Effects Studio (special makeup effects)

Other Companies

• Film Finances Canada  completion guarantor
• Imagine Post  post-production
• William F. White International  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence/gore and language

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | South Korea:15 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Armada Pictures

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jean, Kip and Claire are in the locker room, there's a point where you can see the marking tape "x" on the floor.

Movie Connections:

References The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Dawson Versus The Damned.

Although the premise isn't original or innovating ("Village of the Damned", "Children of the Damned", "Who Can Kill a Child", "The Children of Ravensbeck"…), I'm always enthusiast about a horror movie revolving on murderous – and whether or not zombified – children, but you always have to bear in mind that a concept such as this could be bound to a lot of restrictions as well. Let's face it, the idea of murdering children and/or children getting murdered remains a fairly sensitive topic and especially nowadays filmmakers don't always have the courage to depict everything in great detail. Another big issue is that the scripts are rarely ever strong enough to come up with an explanation that is simultaneously disturbing and plausible. "The Plague", which is somehow linked to the creative writing mastermind Clive Barker, is fairly adequate and satisfying when it comes to dealing with the first issue (there are some very graphic child murders here), but it miserably fails in the plotting department. I just finished watching the film five minutes ago, but please don't ask me to summarize the plot. The film benefits from a handful of really powerful sequences and an occasionally unsettling apocalyptic atmosphere, but the screenplay is incredibly disorderly, incoherent and it explains absolutely nothing at all. On a seemingly average day, all the children on the earth under the age of 9 fall into a coma. Twice a day, like clockwork, they all start twitching together but the reasons for that are anyone's guesses as well. Then, as spontaneously as they fell into a coma, they all awake ten years later as mad zombies and promptly begin to exterminate all the adults for … you guessed it … no apparent reason whatsoever. The film follows a small group of people's quest for survival in a quiet little US town, among them an ex-married couple (Ivana Milicevic and James "Dawson" Van Der Beek in a totally unconvincing performance), a couple of cops and a pair of adolescents who're spiritually linked to the children. The sequences illustrating the zombie children prowling the deserted streets for adults to kill are reasonably effective and creepy, as well as the make-up jobs on their faces, but the film never achieves to be truly terrifying.