This B-grade horror flick has some surprising special effects, and a completely predictable twist ending. When a school bus drives into the fog from a nuclear plant leak, the children inside are transformed into black-fingernailed zombies that incinerate anyone they touch, apparently from the inside-out. My fondness for this movie probably stems from the circumstances in which I saw it--I was 12 or 13, alone in front of the TV at my sister's house at around 2 AM,watching a "rated R movie(!)" I had been expressly forbidden to see. I'm not sure whether I was more afraid of the movie or an adult catching me, but either way, it was good fun. I'm looking forward to the day this one is finally released on DVD.
93 Reviews
Finally able to put a name to this movie, embedded in my memory.
pennyrile27 October 2006
I saw this when I was five years old--my parents were oddly fine with letting me watch any horror flick I wanted. This has had some long-lasting issues, to say the least.
My memory of the movie is a bit hazy. I've described it to many people over the years, searching for someone who knew the title. Alas, no one ever recognized it. Never thought to search it online (one of those things, I guess) until now. I remembered the poisonous fog, the school bus, and the burning hands of the children. Unfortunately, my memory also included purple hamburger-like patties in the palms of the children's hands--the source of their awesome burning power. Strange what you think you remember.
Back on point, awesome awful nonsensical horror film of the 80's.
My memory of the movie is a bit hazy. I've described it to many people over the years, searching for someone who knew the title. Alas, no one ever recognized it. Never thought to search it online (one of those things, I guess) until now. I remembered the poisonous fog, the school bus, and the burning hands of the children. Unfortunately, my memory also included purple hamburger-like patties in the palms of the children's hands--the source of their awesome burning power. Strange what you think you remember.
Back on point, awesome awful nonsensical horror film of the 80's.
Emo zombie kids.
BA_Harrison24 June 2020
A school bus drives through a radioactive fog (the result of a leak at the local nuclear power plant), turning the young passengers into black-finger-nailed zombies with a deadly, corrosive touch.
Having seen my fair share of 'killer kiddie' horror, I've come to the conclusion that it is extremely hard to make minors scary: it's unusual for children to possess the necessary acting chops to appear genuinely dangerous. The Children (of Ravensback) does little to alter my opinion that murderous movie moppets are rarely effective, but it does have a great premise, one that could work well as a remake, so long as a talented director is calling the shots and the casting goes beyond hiring the producer's children.
To be fair, this film isn't unwatchable, thanks to quite a few gruesome deaths, a willingness to kill off anyone, no matter how young, and a feeling that everyone involved was at least trying their best to create something entertaining (the cast might not be Oscar winners, but they're likeable). When the terrible tykes grab hold of someone, it causes the skin to blister and burn, which leads to some fun make-up effects, and respect is due for inflicting such a painful death on two unlikely victims: pretty farmer's daughter Suzie (Joy Glaccum) and little kid Clarkie (Jessie Abrams). I honestly didn't expect either one to die.
I also admire the fact that there wasn't what I would call a happy ending -- no antidote is found for the children -- the only way to deal with the problem being to hack off their hands, killing them in the process. The dismembered remains of several kids are shown in the aftermath.
Bonus marks too for the bizarre scene in which the town sheriff visits influential citizen Dee Dee Shore (Rita Montone), who nonchalantly sparks up a doobie in front of the cop while her partner Jackson Lane (John P. Codiglia) pumps iron by the pool, and for a subsequent scene in which millionaire Sanford Butler-Jones (Martin Brennan) persuades Deputy Harry Timmons to let him through a roadblock. Neither moment has any real bearing on the plot and one wonders what purpose they serve (although Brennan was apparently a drug dealer who supplied coke to the cast and crew, which might answer that query).
I will, however, deduct those marks for several reasons: Harry Manfredini's score is extremely derivative, borrowing heavily from Psycho, Jaws, Halloween, and even the composer's own music for Friday the 13th; the predictable 'twist' ending is lame; and the scene in which deadly youngster Paul (Jeptha Evans) scratches at the window of poor little Clarkie, waiting to be let in, is ripped off from Salem's Lot. Did they really think we wouldn't notice?
5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
Having seen my fair share of 'killer kiddie' horror, I've come to the conclusion that it is extremely hard to make minors scary: it's unusual for children to possess the necessary acting chops to appear genuinely dangerous. The Children (of Ravensback) does little to alter my opinion that murderous movie moppets are rarely effective, but it does have a great premise, one that could work well as a remake, so long as a talented director is calling the shots and the casting goes beyond hiring the producer's children.
To be fair, this film isn't unwatchable, thanks to quite a few gruesome deaths, a willingness to kill off anyone, no matter how young, and a feeling that everyone involved was at least trying their best to create something entertaining (the cast might not be Oscar winners, but they're likeable). When the terrible tykes grab hold of someone, it causes the skin to blister and burn, which leads to some fun make-up effects, and respect is due for inflicting such a painful death on two unlikely victims: pretty farmer's daughter Suzie (Joy Glaccum) and little kid Clarkie (Jessie Abrams). I honestly didn't expect either one to die.
I also admire the fact that there wasn't what I would call a happy ending -- no antidote is found for the children -- the only way to deal with the problem being to hack off their hands, killing them in the process. The dismembered remains of several kids are shown in the aftermath.
Bonus marks too for the bizarre scene in which the town sheriff visits influential citizen Dee Dee Shore (Rita Montone), who nonchalantly sparks up a doobie in front of the cop while her partner Jackson Lane (John P. Codiglia) pumps iron by the pool, and for a subsequent scene in which millionaire Sanford Butler-Jones (Martin Brennan) persuades Deputy Harry Timmons to let him through a roadblock. Neither moment has any real bearing on the plot and one wonders what purpose they serve (although Brennan was apparently a drug dealer who supplied coke to the cast and crew, which might answer that query).
I will, however, deduct those marks for several reasons: Harry Manfredini's score is extremely derivative, borrowing heavily from Psycho, Jaws, Halloween, and even the composer's own music for Friday the 13th; the predictable 'twist' ending is lame; and the scene in which deadly youngster Paul (Jeptha Evans) scratches at the window of poor little Clarkie, waiting to be let in, is ripped off from Salem's Lot. Did they really think we wouldn't notice?
5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
they couldn't have made it any better if they tried
cutshaw-229 May 2003
I first saw this movie when I was a kid and it horrified me. A few decades have passed and I finally rewatched it and I was amazed. Here's a fun horror flick with instantly likeable characters and a
very creepy story. As hardened of a horror fan as I am, even I was creeped out by some of the scenes in this flick (the kids smiling reflections in the window). Sure it's low budget, but that's what's
great about it. And credit goes to the filmmakers for making a consistantly entertaining film, throwing logic to the wind and not explaining why the kid's hands must be cut off or why they are now indestructable. It just makes for a lot of great scenes (Chopping up kids!!! AMAZING!). Plus, they created tension very well. Hope they give this a special treatment on DVD one day.
very creepy story. As hardened of a horror fan as I am, even I was creeped out by some of the scenes in this flick (the kids smiling reflections in the window). Sure it's low budget, but that's what's
great about it. And credit goes to the filmmakers for making a consistantly entertaining film, throwing logic to the wind and not explaining why the kid's hands must be cut off or why they are now indestructable. It just makes for a lot of great scenes (Chopping up kids!!! AMAZING!). Plus, they created tension very well. Hope they give this a special treatment on DVD one day.
I can't believe I waited 26 years
duke190724 March 2006
I wanted to see this movie in 1980 when it first came out and couldn't. When I saw that it was coming to DVD I got really excited. I finally watched it last weekend. I couldn't believe that I had waited 26 years to see such a bad movie. The premise is great-a radioactive cloud turns children into zombies, but the acting and directing bring the film down. Towards the end it just becomes silly. There was a little nudity and some gore. The effects are horrible. There wasn't a single scene that was scary. There is a "surprise ending", but any horror fan can see it coming a mile away. Overall the movie is a waste of time. I did chuckle when the pregnant lady lit a cigarette, patted her stomach and said "I'm sorry" to her unborn baby.
Don't Hug The Nuclear Kids...
EVOL66620 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
THE CHILDREN is a pretty fun and schlocky 80s cult horror film that has it's moments. Nothing to really write home about, but I have a soft-spot for any film that has kids getting shot and having their hands cut off with ninja swords.
A nuclear plant leak causes a bus full of school kids to turn into nuclear zombies with skin-melting hugging abilities. The kids terrorize the town melting all of the adults, and the local sheriff and one of the parents is out to stop them...
Pretty cheezy for the most part, THE CHILDREN is worth a look to low-budget 80s horror fans. Nothing spectacular, but a few of the violence against the nuclear kids scenes are pretty funny...7/10
A nuclear plant leak causes a bus full of school kids to turn into nuclear zombies with skin-melting hugging abilities. The kids terrorize the town melting all of the adults, and the local sheriff and one of the parents is out to stop them...
Pretty cheezy for the most part, THE CHILDREN is worth a look to low-budget 80s horror fans. Nothing spectacular, but a few of the violence against the nuclear kids scenes are pretty funny...7/10
Just a stupid fun romp
ivan_dmitriev26 June 2020
A truly bad, camp classic that entertains!
CGarcia-28 September 1999
I remember seeing The Children when it first came out around 1980...Even back then it was cheesy to say the least...It tries to be creepy in the way Village of the Damned was, but fails miserably...The acting is pretty bad and I actually remember having a great time because of it...I can't give it just 1 star because it's too entertaining a movie to fall into the "awful" category...those black fingernails on the kids...the hugs that produce that nuclear smoke, and the hysterical reactions of the adults they hug make this movie a baddie classic...look for my favorite bad acting line in the movie..."Sheriff you shot a dead dog!" 1980 winner of the Ed Wood entertainment film award in my book!
no hugs, please
movieman_kev17 January 2009
After a school bus full of children drives through a toxic mist due to the nearby nuclear power plant, the terrible tykes are turned into black-nailed monster whose mere touch corrodes the flesh of their victims. Local sheriff Billy Hart (Gil Rogers) has to protect the townsfolk from their prepubescent wrath.
The Children isn't a particularly scary film (ie. not at all), but it IS a fun film and can definite scratch any itch you may have for a cult '80's horror flick and sometimes that is enough to recommend a film. OK acting, laughable dialog, hokey special effects, what more do you want? Give this cult classic a try, you'll more then likely to have a good time with it.
Eye Candy: Rita Montone gets topless
My Grade: B-
The Children isn't a particularly scary film (ie. not at all), but it IS a fun film and can definite scratch any itch you may have for a cult '80's horror flick and sometimes that is enough to recommend a film. OK acting, laughable dialog, hokey special effects, what more do you want? Give this cult classic a try, you'll more then likely to have a good time with it.
Eye Candy: Rita Montone gets topless
My Grade: B-
An actual good Troma movie...
paul_haakonsen1 January 2024
I was familiar with the 1980 horror movie "The Children" by title alone, but I have actually never gotten around to watching it before now in 2024, as I happened to have the opportunity to sit down and do so digitally.
Initially I was a bit concerned when I saw that it was a Troma release, but I still opted to watch the movie and give it the benefit of the doubt. Thankfully, this didn't turn out to be an archetypical Troma goofy movie.
The storyline in "The Children", as written by Carlton J. Albright and Edward Terry, was definitely a very different take on a zombie movie. Not that it was a bad one, actually, because there was something enjoyable about the script, storyline and narrative. And that whole early 1980s feel definitely helped to make the movie all the more cheesy and enjoyable.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. But they had a good ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list.
Visually, then "The Children" might have been good back in 1980, but the effects haven't aged well. When you watch it today, the effects come off as very cheesy, amateurish and low budget. But it actually adds to the overall charm of the movie.
My rating of director Max Kalmanowicz's 1980 movie "The Children" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Initially I was a bit concerned when I saw that it was a Troma release, but I still opted to watch the movie and give it the benefit of the doubt. Thankfully, this didn't turn out to be an archetypical Troma goofy movie.
The storyline in "The Children", as written by Carlton J. Albright and Edward Terry, was definitely a very different take on a zombie movie. Not that it was a bad one, actually, because there was something enjoyable about the script, storyline and narrative. And that whole early 1980s feel definitely helped to make the movie all the more cheesy and enjoyable.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. But they had a good ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list.
Visually, then "The Children" might have been good back in 1980, but the effects haven't aged well. When you watch it today, the effects come off as very cheesy, amateurish and low budget. But it actually adds to the overall charm of the movie.
My rating of director Max Kalmanowicz's 1980 movie "The Children" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Childhood Classic
dream-warrior200126 November 2002
I remember watching this movie with my mom and dad late one night on TBS, and I remember how scary it was for me then. That was back in the mid-80's though, today I think somewhat differently. I rented the movie again a few years ago just to jog my memory of it, because all I really remembered was was it was about some kids who can burn people with their hands. Now that I've rewatched it I can judge as an adult. The movie is a good one for people, like me, who love B horror movies. The premise is laughable, who ever heard of toxic gas creating zombie children who can fry people with their hands and be basically invincible to any weapon? There are obviously a lot of unconceivable premises in this movie, but that's what makes it so good. The children can't be destroyed unless their hands are cut off! Too funny. The weirdest part was the pregnant woman who gave birth after her 2 sons have been killed, and she and the father act as if nothing happened. Anyway, I wouldn't tell anyone to stray from this movie, it is a classic and lots of people are willing to pay big bucks for it just because they remember it as a classic horror movie they liked. The friendship I have now, who is also my best friend, came about over this movie. We were talking about horror movies at work during Halloween, and I brought up this movie and she started talking about how much she liked it when she saw it at the drive-in with her family but for years could not remember the title until shined the light on it for her. This movie has a lot of fans out there, and if you haven't seen it and you see it in the video store, rent it. It's one you won't forget!
THE CHILDREN
ryan-100753 July 2020
An interesting, cheesy yet fun B-grade horror flick from Troma Entertainment. A school bus full of singing kiddies is swallow by a yellow gas. In turn it transforms these children into little terrors. One hug from one of these kids will fry your skin like a sizzling package of bacon. The zombie-like kids move even slower than a Romero zombie! Well paced, but not sure if it really had enough material to squash into an hour and a half movie.
The music sounds quite familiar from Harry Manfredini. It is reminiscent of FRIDAY THE 13TH. Just don't expect too much from this flick and you might enjoy it.
The music sounds quite familiar from Harry Manfredini. It is reminiscent of FRIDAY THE 13TH. Just don't expect too much from this flick and you might enjoy it.
"Bullets have no effect on them! John, we've got to cut off their hands." Disappointing, dull & frankly boring.
poolandrews17 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The Children starts one sunny New England day at the 'Yankee Power Company. Northern Tier 1 Nuclear Generating Facility' where a strange cloud of yellow gas escapes from a pipe... The children of the small town of Ravensback are on their way home from school but as the bus drives along it passes through a cloud of the yellow gas. As Sheriff Billy Hart (Gil Rogers) makes his rounds he notice's the school bus in the middle of the road totally empty & with the engine still running, he calls in at the nearest house that of Dr. Joyce Gould (Michelle Le Mothe) to see if she knows anything which she doesn't. They both go back to the bus but still find nothing, Sheriff Hart speeds off to set the wheels in motion & set about finding the kids but once he is gone Dr. Gould finds the bus driver (Ray Delmolino) horribly mutilated & after one of the children hugs her she ends up the same way. The children of Ravensback, Tommy Button (Nathanael Albright), Paul MacKenzie (Jeptha Evans), Ellen Chandler (Sarah Albright), Janet Shore (Julie Carrier) & Jennifer Freemont (Clara Evans), have changed. They have become evil murderers who kill with their radioactive hands that burn & horribly mutilate any other person they touch! Sheriff Hart & John (Martin Shakar) a distraught parent, must find a way to stop them & their indiscriminate killing spree...
Co-produced & directed by Max Kalmanowicz I think The Children is a throughly bad film with very little to recommend it. The Children takes me back to my childhood as it was one of the very first horror films I ever saw on VHS, to this day I specifically remember it because I wanted to see Total Recall (1990) the week it came out but the shop didn't have any copies so my dad rented The Children instead as he knew I liked horror films, thanks a lot dad! I also remember really disliking it back then & having watched it again last night my opinion of it isn't any better. The script by producers Carlton J. Albright & Edward Terry has a neat, twisted & fairly original concept that could have made for some great early 80's exploitation. Unfortunately the concept is totally ruined by rubbishy character's, a dumb script & a complete lack of anything exciting. The only character's in The Children are John & the Sheriff as everyone else have bit parts, we never know why this cloud of yellow gas only affects children & to be honest I can't think of a single logical reason why it would, we don't know why their hands burn people or how they become invincible to bullets, some plot threads seem to be there for the hell of it as when the Sheriff turns on the TV it says that similar things may be happening across the country but it is never expanded upon & there is one scene when one of the children manages to turn back into a normal person & touch people but this only happens in this scene & is never used again or explained why this kid didn't just burn the guy straight away, I mean why wait? She doesn't, or any of the rest of the children do this again so why this particular moment? Besides the inconsistent plot The Children commits the unforgivable sin of being really dull & boring, virtually the entire film is made up of Sheriff Hart & John driving around trying to look concerned. There's a whole 40 odd minute chunk of this crap where next to nothing happens, or at least that's how it seemed to me.
Director Kalmanowicz was obviously working on a low budget & the film looks pretty cheap throughout although it has that 80's horror film vibe to it which helps. It's far from scary, the children don't even run after their victims & black fingernails are hardly scary, there's no tension & no gore. There are a few burned bodies, a dead dog & the children have their hands cut off but they don't bleed so there's no blood & I can't remember a single drop of blood being spilt during the whole film.
The budget for The Children must have been small to say the least, it's competent I suppose & it gives the film a certain feel to it. The acting was OK I suppose, there's not that many people in it to be honest & the children never say a word.
The Children was yet another disappointment, it was boring, dull & simply didn't have the budget to expand upon it's ideas. I didn't like it all those years ago & I definitely don't like it now either, difficult to recommend. As of the time of writing this comment on The Children's user rating page on the IMDb 42 people have given it 10 out of 10, that's almost an incredible quarter of all voters. I'm sorry but but that is as fixed as they come, are the IMDb seriously trying to tell me that if 100 random people sat in a room & they all watched The Children 25 of them would say it's an absolutely perfect film & give it 10 out of 10? I don't think so...
Co-produced & directed by Max Kalmanowicz I think The Children is a throughly bad film with very little to recommend it. The Children takes me back to my childhood as it was one of the very first horror films I ever saw on VHS, to this day I specifically remember it because I wanted to see Total Recall (1990) the week it came out but the shop didn't have any copies so my dad rented The Children instead as he knew I liked horror films, thanks a lot dad! I also remember really disliking it back then & having watched it again last night my opinion of it isn't any better. The script by producers Carlton J. Albright & Edward Terry has a neat, twisted & fairly original concept that could have made for some great early 80's exploitation. Unfortunately the concept is totally ruined by rubbishy character's, a dumb script & a complete lack of anything exciting. The only character's in The Children are John & the Sheriff as everyone else have bit parts, we never know why this cloud of yellow gas only affects children & to be honest I can't think of a single logical reason why it would, we don't know why their hands burn people or how they become invincible to bullets, some plot threads seem to be there for the hell of it as when the Sheriff turns on the TV it says that similar things may be happening across the country but it is never expanded upon & there is one scene when one of the children manages to turn back into a normal person & touch people but this only happens in this scene & is never used again or explained why this kid didn't just burn the guy straight away, I mean why wait? She doesn't, or any of the rest of the children do this again so why this particular moment? Besides the inconsistent plot The Children commits the unforgivable sin of being really dull & boring, virtually the entire film is made up of Sheriff Hart & John driving around trying to look concerned. There's a whole 40 odd minute chunk of this crap where next to nothing happens, or at least that's how it seemed to me.
Director Kalmanowicz was obviously working on a low budget & the film looks pretty cheap throughout although it has that 80's horror film vibe to it which helps. It's far from scary, the children don't even run after their victims & black fingernails are hardly scary, there's no tension & no gore. There are a few burned bodies, a dead dog & the children have their hands cut off but they don't bleed so there's no blood & I can't remember a single drop of blood being spilt during the whole film.
The budget for The Children must have been small to say the least, it's competent I suppose & it gives the film a certain feel to it. The acting was OK I suppose, there's not that many people in it to be honest & the children never say a word.
The Children was yet another disappointment, it was boring, dull & simply didn't have the budget to expand upon it's ideas. I didn't like it all those years ago & I definitely don't like it now either, difficult to recommend. As of the time of writing this comment on The Children's user rating page on the IMDb 42 people have given it 10 out of 10, that's almost an incredible quarter of all voters. I'm sorry but but that is as fixed as they come, are the IMDb seriously trying to tell me that if 100 random people sat in a room & they all watched The Children 25 of them would say it's an absolutely perfect film & give it 10 out of 10? I don't think so...
WHAT THE HELL?!?. . .
lazarillo10 May 2004
This is one of those movies that is like an idiot step-child--it's totally moronic but still strangely hard to dislike. When so many horror movies are so transparently and unimaginatively exploitative, it's refreshing to see a movie so ludicrous and completely off-the-wall that god only knows WHAT it's trying to exploit. Is it trying to prey on every parent's fear that their lovable moppets will turn into radioactive zombies? Is it trying to make an environmental statement about how nuclear waste will turn children's fingernails black and make them kill every adult they touch? Is it trying to impress the gorehounds with its incredible special effects (i.e. dry ice and black fingernail polish)? Someone ought to put this movie, "The Carrier" (1987), and "The Pit" (1982)all on a single DVD compilation and call it "WHAT THE HELL?!..." or something like that. I'd definitely buy it.
Not as great as people say
Tikkin14 March 2006
I bought the VHS of this as people keep saying how good it is, but feel disappointed. The "idea" behind it sounds cool, but the execution isn't very good. There is no suspense, little gore and little entertainment. There are some fun cheesy moments however such as when the children touch the adults and yellow gas emits from them as they are burnt to a crisp. There's other good moments too such as when we see the adults hacking up the kids, but not enough to hold sustained interest. If better actors had been used, perhaps this film might have worked. We might have actually felt some emotion when the parents are forced to to kill their children. But since the actors are so unconvincing, you don't really feel anything.
starts out good...
shmucking30 July 2008
I thought the movie started out very promisingly. It had a sinister, understated beginning. But as the film progressed, it didn't follow through. The characters weren't interesting, the movie gets tedious and it didn't have any momentum. That seems to be the problem with a lot of horror films, and it's too bad on this one, because it could've been great. I'd love to see this movie re-made and have it follow through on the creepiness of the beginning. I think I'll buy it on VHS anyway. This was made around the time of all those delightful 80's horror films. Plus, the theater I saw it in had a weird flower smell that somehow fit the movie, and made it more scary.
Shockingly poor horror..
anxietyresister4 June 2006
A bunch of kids on their way home in a school bus are mysteriously abducted en route and turned into mindless zombies whose mere touch will burn you to death. Of course, their families don't know about this, but when it comes to them being embraced by their former little angels, they'll find out the hard way..
How did the children get like that? What is the purpose of them killing everyone in sight? How do they remember who their parents were, but nothing else? Why are they impervious to bullets, but die when their hands are cut off? And just who the hell agreed to bankroll this nonsense? All these questions swirled around my head as the film unfurled itself, but I didn't get any answers. Was I paying enough attention? I think so, but it was hard at times to take my eye off the charred bodies of the kiddy's victims, which resembled old newspapers and worms mashed together. Or wondering why one of the parents had a pillow stuffed up her nightdress, only to find out she was supposed to be pregnant(!) So there were some distractions, but personally I don't think any explanations exist and the director didn't have time for piddling details such as a motive.
So as you've probably gathered by now, this movie isn't actually very good. It ain't scary, It ain't gory and even compared to some of the mega-low budget crap I've viewed recently, the lack of money spent on its production is plain to see. It doesn't even have the benefit of unintentional laughs.. it's inept alright, but in a sad way, not hilarious. And can someone please explain the alleged 'twist ending'? It makes about as much sense as a British Rail announcer and breaks almost every rule established by the plot (which was flimsy enough to begin with). Still, at least it keeps up the film's low standards till the bitter end. Well done!! 2/10
How did the children get like that? What is the purpose of them killing everyone in sight? How do they remember who their parents were, but nothing else? Why are they impervious to bullets, but die when their hands are cut off? And just who the hell agreed to bankroll this nonsense? All these questions swirled around my head as the film unfurled itself, but I didn't get any answers. Was I paying enough attention? I think so, but it was hard at times to take my eye off the charred bodies of the kiddy's victims, which resembled old newspapers and worms mashed together. Or wondering why one of the parents had a pillow stuffed up her nightdress, only to find out she was supposed to be pregnant(!) So there were some distractions, but personally I don't think any explanations exist and the director didn't have time for piddling details such as a motive.
So as you've probably gathered by now, this movie isn't actually very good. It ain't scary, It ain't gory and even compared to some of the mega-low budget crap I've viewed recently, the lack of money spent on its production is plain to see. It doesn't even have the benefit of unintentional laughs.. it's inept alright, but in a sad way, not hilarious. And can someone please explain the alleged 'twist ending'? It makes about as much sense as a British Rail announcer and breaks almost every rule established by the plot (which was flimsy enough to begin with). Still, at least it keeps up the film's low standards till the bitter end. Well done!! 2/10
"Am I glad to see you kids."
lost-in-limbo3 March 2013
If there was a horror film that had certain nostalgia, you could say "The Children" was one of those cult films you would hear horror fans talking about and explaining how it was a childhood favourite. For me that wasn't the case, as I just watched for the first time, but I found it to be a surprisingly effective little low-budget feature which saw some of the film crew (lead by music composer Harry Manfredini) to go on to be apart of Sean S. Cunningham's 1980 iconic "Friday the 13th".
When a school bus drives through a yellow mist of nuclear waste, a group of children of a rural town go missing, unknowingly to the town's folk they find out they have been transformed into zombies that are aching for a hug. But the results are toxic for whoever encounters them. It's up to the town sheriff to these lurking menaces.
Everything about it is low-grade schlock and it plays out generic, from the acting to its direction, slight story (with a "Night of the Living Dead" vibe), adds ghastly make-up FX, dreary photography and even parts of the writing. But simply put its fun; in a daft, but also deranged and kooky manner. Sometimes humorous and at times unintentional, but still there are moments of gusty exploitation (that's zombie kids being mutilated by swords and axes!), suspense (those kiddie cuddle build-ups) and a constant eeriness (the appearances of the kids). Even the narrative throws a sudden shock twist here and there. The cast do feature some names with a likable Gil Rogers, Martin Shaker in a wooden turn, the very flirtatious Joy Glaccum and an amusing Peter Maloney. The forlorn woodland locations help alienate the horror, while Manfredini's music score is overstated, but not without its moments.
Crazy, offbeat, ultra-cheap, but it's hard to resist these killer kids.
"They'll turn up."
When a school bus drives through a yellow mist of nuclear waste, a group of children of a rural town go missing, unknowingly to the town's folk they find out they have been transformed into zombies that are aching for a hug. But the results are toxic for whoever encounters them. It's up to the town sheriff to these lurking menaces.
Everything about it is low-grade schlock and it plays out generic, from the acting to its direction, slight story (with a "Night of the Living Dead" vibe), adds ghastly make-up FX, dreary photography and even parts of the writing. But simply put its fun; in a daft, but also deranged and kooky manner. Sometimes humorous and at times unintentional, but still there are moments of gusty exploitation (that's zombie kids being mutilated by swords and axes!), suspense (those kiddie cuddle build-ups) and a constant eeriness (the appearances of the kids). Even the narrative throws a sudden shock twist here and there. The cast do feature some names with a likable Gil Rogers, Martin Shaker in a wooden turn, the very flirtatious Joy Glaccum and an amusing Peter Maloney. The forlorn woodland locations help alienate the horror, while Manfredini's music score is overstated, but not without its moments.
Crazy, offbeat, ultra-cheap, but it's hard to resist these killer kids.
"They'll turn up."
Good concept but cheap execution
Johan_Wondering_on_Waves14 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Well I liked the concept of kids turning into some kind of zombies by some mysterious cloud. But that happens without any build-up and they go on to kill the annoying adults. And yes since all performers in the movie go without character development I couldn't really be bothered if they lived or died in the end. I'm trying to think if this movie has any redeeming qualities. Well yeah the kids were threatening and instead of actually biting their victims like zombies do, they burn them by touching them. It would have been nice there was some actual cure for it, rather than going for the easy way by chopping their limbs of. It was an original idea but the execution was done in such a cheap way hoping to cash in quickly on the zombie craze.
Beware the kids with black finger nails
dbborroughs30 March 2008
Legendary Drive in Trash horror film about a school bus full of kids that goes through a chemical cloud and causes them to become black nailed little monsters that melt you if they touch you.
This movie has to be seen to be believed- however be warned the effects aren't good-there are frequent laughably bad death scenes and the film ultimately isn't very good- still somehow there is something about the film that sticks in the memory-that causes anyone who's seen it to say "is that the one with the black nails?". Not a particularly good film but a classic of its type (what ever that is)-though not one I'd really recommend unless you like this sort of thing.
This movie has to be seen to be believed- however be warned the effects aren't good-there are frequent laughably bad death scenes and the film ultimately isn't very good- still somehow there is something about the film that sticks in the memory-that causes anyone who's seen it to say "is that the one with the black nails?". Not a particularly good film but a classic of its type (what ever that is)-though not one I'd really recommend unless you like this sort of thing.
hammy and creepy fun
disdressed1224 April 2010
i thought this was a fun little horror classic.as far as i know,it's an original concept.not the zombies themselves,but how they became zombies.and how they kill their victims.it is cheesy and the acting is hammy,but so what.the premise is pretty cool.it's genuinely creepy.i especially love the score by Harry Manfredini,although it's very similar to Friday the 13th(which he also scored)and it does become overpowering and a bit distracting at times.the makeup effects are actually pretty good for the time.and if you're paying attention throughout the movie(which i obviously wasn't)the ending won't come as a surprise to you.overall,an enjoyable 90 minutes or so.for me,The Children(1980)is an 8/10
Lots of cheesy fun!
irbear126 December 2004
I remember seeing the previews for this movie on TV when I was a kid back in the 80's. Funny thing is it always stuck with me and I had been wanting to see this movie ever since. Well, I recently went to a film festival of bad movies and The Children was one of them. I was very excited to see it. I was not disappointed. This movie is fast paced, and fun. Don't get me wrong, it is a bad movie, but a good, fun movie. What really helped the movie was the score, which was composed by Harry Manfredini who also scored that little old film Friday the 13th. So, the music helped to build some creepiness and suspense. The fact that the movie is about children who become toxic, zombie, killers makes it enjoyable on that level. Just watching the townsfolk trying to stop the children is a hoot. Rarely in films these days do we see children get dispatched on screen. That is something to enjoy. Not the fact that children are being killed but that it is a testament to how times have changed in movie-making.
So bad, it's . . bad!
onlythusfar4 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Lame rip-off of "Village of the Damned". Acting was lame, special effects were lame, and the obvious "twist" ending was lame. " I can't believe, I watched the whole thing!" A bit of 70's silliness and nudity livened it up a little, for your inner adolescent. I would regard a repeat viewing, as cruel and unnatural punishment. I guess it could be alright to watch with a rowdy group, if you were all hammered. The soundtrack is quite comical. The manner in which they "dispatch" of the children is extremely lame. "The Village of the Damned" is a masterpiece compared to this pathetic drivel. I highly recommend it, as well as, the book on which it was based, "The Midwich Cuckoos", by John Wyndam.
Terrified me and my sister as, well, children
udar5521 October 2011
A leak at a nuclear plant releases a toxic cloud that poisons all the kids from Ravensback after their school bus drives through it. The kids end up being like zombies with black fingernails and they cause their parents to melt when they touch them. Jeez, talk about your nuclear family! It is up to Sheriff Billy Hart (Gil Rogers) and local dad John Freemont (Martin Shakar) to stop these radioactive little moppets. I saw this as a kid in the early 1980s and it freaked the hell out of me and my sister. It is such a simple premise (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD KIDS), but the filmmakers pull it off with the creepy kids saying nothing more than "Mommy! Mommy!" or "Daddy! Daddy!" with their arms extended. Also, the method of dispatching them (cutting off their hands) is done really effective and it is rare to see kids the subject of on screen carnage. It is a nice production too, with lots of great rural locations. There are also some really bizarre choices when it comes to the town folk. Harry Manfredini provides a score that sounds exactly like his F13 compositions.
Never trust a kid who wants to hug you
Milo-Jeeder8 July 2008
Silly movies like this always cheer me up for some reason. I've read some of the other reviews and I can't believe some people would actually take a movie like this so seriously. The premise is laughable to begin with and Troma is well known for producing these kinds of delirious flicks. 'The Children' is neither scary nor atmospheric, but there's something about it that makes it worthy somehow. I don't know about the others, but I refuse to dislike a cheap horror movie from the early 80s about a group of zombie children with black fingernails who kill their victims by giving them a deadly hug. The "special effects" are just as laughable as the plot and this film is one of those cases in which I actually feel a strange admiration towards the director for making an effort with insufficient resources. A different director would have probably desisted or maybe even step out of the project, but Mr. Max Kalmanowicz took the risk and in the end, the results were good enough to release a future 'guilty pleasure'. Whatever the case may be, guilty pleasure or not, the director deserves credit for creating this stupidly fun little flick.
There's something oddly compelling about evil children in horror films, isn't there? I've seen my decent share of this kind and I realized that even if sometimes the film itself is not very good, there's still something morbidly fascinating about a child murdering a grown up. In this case, however, I think we could say that 'The Children' is more of a zombie flick instead. I know the killers are a group of five children who wander around a small town killing grown-ups, but they never actually act like human beings to begin with. We never see them talking to each other, planning their atrocities or expressing any emotions at all. They're just empty creatures with no personality or feelings whatsoever and the only reason why they kill, it's because at the very beginning of the film, they are all zombified by some kind of toxic cloud (?) These children are not exactly evil and they have no personalities because they're not human. So anyone who is in the mood to see a movie about mischievous children instead of zombies... skip this one because this is not what you're looking for.
What actually struck me about this film however, is that it seems to have a morally upright message. 'The Children' is mostly an unpretentious horror film, but there's still something strange about the grown characters if you analyze them. Most of the children's parents are portrayed as liberal people who don't play by the rules and guess what happens to all of them... exactly what you're thinking, yes! All right, first we have a lesbian couple (one of them is also very much into taking sedative pills), then we have an uncaring mother who smokes weed and shows her boobs and then we have a seemingly homosexual man who goes to town for no reason whatsoever. I wonder if these characters were unusual just to add a little 'something' or if there was some kind of hidden conservative propaganda behind the story.
Either way, this movie is fine and if you're in the mood for some modest entertainment, give 'The Children' a chance... but don't let them hug you, for crying out loud!
There's something oddly compelling about evil children in horror films, isn't there? I've seen my decent share of this kind and I realized that even if sometimes the film itself is not very good, there's still something morbidly fascinating about a child murdering a grown up. In this case, however, I think we could say that 'The Children' is more of a zombie flick instead. I know the killers are a group of five children who wander around a small town killing grown-ups, but they never actually act like human beings to begin with. We never see them talking to each other, planning their atrocities or expressing any emotions at all. They're just empty creatures with no personality or feelings whatsoever and the only reason why they kill, it's because at the very beginning of the film, they are all zombified by some kind of toxic cloud (?) These children are not exactly evil and they have no personalities because they're not human. So anyone who is in the mood to see a movie about mischievous children instead of zombies... skip this one because this is not what you're looking for.
What actually struck me about this film however, is that it seems to have a morally upright message. 'The Children' is mostly an unpretentious horror film, but there's still something strange about the grown characters if you analyze them. Most of the children's parents are portrayed as liberal people who don't play by the rules and guess what happens to all of them... exactly what you're thinking, yes! All right, first we have a lesbian couple (one of them is also very much into taking sedative pills), then we have an uncaring mother who smokes weed and shows her boobs and then we have a seemingly homosexual man who goes to town for no reason whatsoever. I wonder if these characters were unusual just to add a little 'something' or if there was some kind of hidden conservative propaganda behind the story.
Either way, this movie is fine and if you're in the mood for some modest entertainment, give 'The Children' a chance... but don't let them hug you, for crying out loud!
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