Horror movies exist by breaking certain taboos but, after some century and a bit of cinema, those taboos have been watered down into things you just sort of expect. Sex, murder, torture, gore, they've all gone from genuinely shocking video nasties to just a handful more of the tropes that every scary film has to include. It's difficult to watch a horror movie these days and be genuinely shocked and disturbed by what happens in it. Which is part of what makes Tom Shankland's The Children so effective, as a family New Year spent in a remote country house takes a turn for the murderous...only, rather than falling prey to your usual Leslie Vernon-style slashers, it's the kids who aren't all right. The pace of The Children is very slow and deliberate, beginning more like a family drama as the rebellious Casey bemoans the fact he has to spend her New Year's Eve with a bunch of kids. As the story progresses so does the sense that something's not quite right, as the titular sprogs begin throwing up and genuinely showing signs of illness, leading to them turning on the adults and enacting bloody revenge for all the spankings and groundings they've had to contend with over the course of their short lives. Well, that's not the reason for their sudden murder spree, but seeing adults dealing with a load of kids trying to kill them is genuinely, delightfully disturbing, and will have you thinking twice before pinching another baby's dimpled cheeks.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
