A $30,000 home movie where much of the amateur casts thesping is variable at best, The Child still manages to create some atmosphere with its prowling camera, ominous soundtrack and hyperactive smoke machine, while bizarre sequences such as the heroine dancing with a scarecrow lend the picture a dream-like quality that would do Jean Rollin proud. When governess Alicianne (Laurel Barnett) meets Rosalie Norton (Rosalie Cole), she comes to realize that the child not only has psychic powers but is also capable of resurrecting her friends from the nearby cemetery. This leads to the films trump card, a final reel homage to Night Of The Living Dead that comes within shouting distance of George Romeros movie. Director Robert Voskanians preference for misty outdoor settings, close-ups accompanied by an ominous tinkling piano and quick cuts to barely-seen predators are, depending on your point of view, either wonderfully atmospheric or amusingly corny, and even if The Child isnt exactly a long-lost classic, its still a movie worth catching. Even Rob Zombies a fan he sampled the dialogue on his Hellbilly Deluxe II album.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
