The Children

Evil kids are a tried-and-true horror staple responsible for some legit masterpieces—The Bad Seed, The Exorcist, The Omen, Who Can Kill a Child?, and Bloody Birthday, to name just a few. But it’s a subgenre that naturally appeals to certain types more than others. The films can be a source of major stress for current or expectant parents, or a validating I-told-you-so for those who are on the fence about reproducing or who actively preach the downsides of bringing babies into this messed-up world. The very idea of being attacked by your own offspring is brutal enough—and a recent, devastating real-life crime makes this topic all the more tender—but the inverse, mothers and fathers having to consider the option of harming their children in the name of self-defense, is too much to bear for some.

Tom Shankland’s The Children is a particularly vicious movie whose horror stems from a cozy holiday gathering at a remote English countryside home, where two sisters and their families plan to ring in the new year together. But right from the start, scenes that look like moments of innocent play in the snow are offset by an ominous score (by Stephen Hilton), signaling that things aren’t quite right. The four youngsters—Miranda, Paulie, Nicky, and Leah, all as adorably precious as their names—indeed begin acting strangely. They complain of feeling sick and exhibit symptoms like coughing and throwing up, and seem eerily distant or even possessed. It’s not the devil, bad genes, or cosmic curses that take over these children, but some sort of widespread virus that is infecting them. And it’s amazing how quickly gleeful screams can turn to ones of terror, and annoying whining can become sinister. Basically, everything descends into chaos as these kids begin violently targeting their parents.

Rounding out the group is one appropriately rebellious teen, Casey (Hannah Tointon), who emerges as the most relatable character and provides the grounding for the film, however shaky. The truly uninteresting adult figures don’t give us much to latch onto, which, depending on whether you’re a viewer of the parent or non-parent variety, either strips away some vital tension or makes their deadly predicament more pleasing to witness.

Working from a story by Paul Andrew Williams—who wrote and directed the horror/comedy gem The Cottage, also released in 2008—Shankland transcends a limited budget with stylish visuals and well-crafted suspense. He also gets more convincing performances from his young cast than most child actors are capable of giving: these cute little buggers are actually quite terrifying. While the movie might not offer anything too groundbreaking—and it ill-advisedly uses a generic title already taken by a cult radioactive-kids chiller from 1980—The Children is a wintry holiday treat to delight in with like-minded family members. Plus, bloody snow will never not be cinematic.