The Child (1977)

A newly hired housekeeper arrives to her employer's house in the countryside. She slowly discovers that the only child in the house, an eleven-year-old girl, hides a deadly secret.

Director:

Robert Voskanian

Writer:

Ralph Lucas

Stars:

Laurel Barnett, Rosalie Cole, Frank Janson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laurel Barnett	...	Alicianne Del Mar
Rosalie Cole	...	Rosalie Nordon
Frank Janson	...	Nordon
Richard Hanners	...	Len Nordon
Ruth Ballan	...	Mrs. Whitfield (as Ruth Ballen)
Slosson Bing Jong	...	Gardener
Rod Medigovich	...	Priest / Creature
Wendell Hudiburg	...	Pall Bearer
Chris Tieken	...	Jefferson
Ralph Lucas	...	Creature
Jim Dickson	...	Creature
Chick Cavanaugh	...	Creature
Anoosh Avan	...	Creature

Storyline

A newly hired house-keeper in a secluded area is alarmed to discover that her boss's eleven-year-old daughter is using her supernatural powers to take revenge on the people she holds responsible for her mother's death, with the aid of her flesh-eating zombie 'friends'.

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Plot Keywords:

child villain | little girl | raising the dead | video nasty | evil child | 

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Taglines:

Something is eating everyone in the cemetery... (as "Kill and Go Hide")

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot mostly on short ends.

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Goofs

Len's hairstyle and clothing do not match the film's 1930s setting.

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Quotes

Rosalie Nordon: My friends are going to come and hurt you both! Hurt you bad!

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Alternate Versions

The German DVD released by Best Entertainment in 2004 is listed as and has a running time of 85 mins. However the longer running time is due to a time expansion (meaning the film print was slowed down). It has nothing extra and the content is exactly the same as the US VHS tape with the following two exceptions- The opening title sequence is a little different in the way the credits appear and that it has some added wind sound effect playing in the background (which you can hear was from the film print and not something added as a new sound effect). Also towards the end when the zombies attack, our two main characters are fighting one by a saw mill type building where the zombie gets stabbed with a wooden stake. The US version then shows a far away shot of our two heroes running around to the front of the saw mill building before her leg breaks through a floorboard in the front. The German dvd omits this long shot, so after the zombie is stabbed it cuts to them already in the front of the building a second before her leg goes through the floorboard.

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Connections

Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

User Reviews

bread and butter 70s drive in horror

When I say the "bread and butter" of 70s drive-in horror, I mean movies like this one came and went, forgotten and/or never seen by the majority. But it was films like this that kept drive-ins and smaller movie houses in business. I am so

thankful for the age of the DVD. With the DVD era, companies such as Anchor

Bay, Something Weird Video (Image), Blue Underground, Shriek Show, and

many others have brought back lost cult classics (and not so cult classics) so that new generations can discover them, and the older generations can

rediscover them.

"The Child" has all the right ingredients for a b-horror movie. A little bit of homemade special effect gore, a soundtrack that gives you the creeps, zombies, and it set in the countryside. It may have it's slow parts, but the final 20 minutes or so deliver the goods in fine 70s b-grade fashion. You will be getting startled one minute, then laughing the next (unintentionally of course).

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Children of the Night

Filming Locations:

Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Panorama Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min 85 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1