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The Children

  • 20082008
  • RR
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
18K
YOUR RATING
The Children (2008)
Spooky trailer with misbehaving kids
Play trailer1:27
1 Video
36 Photos
  • Horror
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
18K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Tom Shankland
  • Writers
    • Paul Andrew Williams(story)
    • Tom Shankland
  • Stars
    • Eva Birthistle
    • Stephen Campbell Moore
    • Jeremy Sheffield
Top credits
  • Director
    • Tom Shankland
  • Writers
    • Paul Andrew Williams(story)
    • Tom Shankland
  • Stars
    • Eva Birthistle
    • Stephen Campbell Moore
    • Jeremy Sheffield
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 161User reviews
    • 149Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations

    Videos1

    The Children
    Trailer 1:27
    The Children

    Photos36

    Rachel Shelley in The Children (2008)
    Jake Hathaway and Rafiella Brooks in The Children (2008)
    Eva Birthistle in The Children (2008)
    Hannah Tointon in The Children (2008)
    The Children (2008)
    The Children (2008)
    The Children (2008)
    The Children (2008)
    The Children (2008)
    Hannah Tointon in The Children (2008)
    Hannah Tointon in The Children (2008)
    Eva Birthistle, Jeremy Sheffield, and Rachel Shelley in The Children (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Eva Birthistle
    Eva Birthistle
    • Elaineas Elaine
    Stephen Campbell Moore
    Stephen Campbell Moore
    • Jonahas Jonah
    Jeremy Sheffield
    Jeremy Sheffield
    • Robbieas Robbie
    Rachel Shelley
    Rachel Shelley
    • Chloeas Chloe
    Hannah Tointon
    Hannah Tointon
    • Caseyas Casey
    Rafiella Brooks
    Rafiella Brooks
    • Leahas Leah
    Jake Hathaway
    • Nickyas Nicky
    William Howes
    • Paulieas Paulie
    Eva Sayer
    Eva Sayer
    • Mirandaas Miranda
    • Director
      • Tom Shankland
    • Writers
      • Paul Andrew Williams(story)
      • Tom Shankland
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Was nominated for the 2009 Fright Meter Award for Best Horror Movie.
    • Goofs
      While Casey keeps smashing at the locked door and apparently partly breaking through it, it seems her actions also opened up the lock magically. Also Elaine should be still sitting in front of it, however Casey is able to open it the outside way without any obstacle in the way.
    • Quotes

      Casey: [Annoyed] Did you ever hear of contraception?

    • Connections
      Featured in The Making of 'The Children' (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Christmas Everybody
      Written by Eva Abraham / Andrew Waterworth (as Andy Waterworth)

      Performed by Eva Abraham & The Nat Franklin Trio

      Published by Hamworth Music

      Courtesy of Hamworth Music

    User reviews161

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    Very strong directing ruined by very weak script
    After so many good reviews I was pretty psyched to see The Children. Several times I'd seen it put on a par with "Eden Lake", which I thought was one of the most tense, horrifying, well-conceived horrors of recent times.

    I must say it started out really promising. It looked like it was paying close attention to building atmosphere and establishing characters - which is a rarity these days. It was quiet and disturbing for the first half hour, not to mention beautifully shot. I was settling in nicely, absorbed into the character's little Christmas get-together, and pleasantly anticipating the start of the horror.

    But then it really went off the rails fast. There was a sudden rapid-fire sequence of ill-conceived, unbelievable, almost "Rube-Goldbergian" death and injury scenes, followed by a bunch of hysterical characters who - if they weren't doing something downright stupid and frustrating - were instead doing something that just didn't make any sense.

    I spent a good deal of the last half of the film turning to my significant other and saying "I don't get why that character just did that..." The characters motivations for even the simplest actions through the last half of the film seem so weak as to almost be alien. In fact, the evil "possessed" children were acting in a more understandable way than the apparently normal adults.

    You can't excuse the way the adults in the film act by simply believing they are operating under extreme circumstances the way you can in movies like "Eden Lake". But you can explain it by shoddy, lazy writing. Most of the movies I've seen in recent weeks had okay screenplays but floundered on bad directing. This was the exact opposite - beautiful directing ruined by a really weak script.

    Dangit I'd hoped this would be a good one. Oh well, onto the next...
    helpful•48
    25
    • The_Dead_See
    • Dec 5, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 5, 2008 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official site (France)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Day
    • Filming locations
      • Cookhill Priory, Cookhill, Alcester, Warwickshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Vertigo Films
      • Aramid Entertainment Fund
      • Barnsnape Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,300,051
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 24 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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