Overview
A chilling exploration of childhood innocence turned sinister as four friends discover their hidden powers during summer break.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- eerie
- foreboding
- oppressive
- late night horror
- quiet evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a chilling, atmospheric, and unusually perceptive supernatural thriller grounded in strong child performances and close observation of moral development.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story remains closely aligned with Ida, Anna, Ben, and Aisha as they explore their powers away from adult supervision.
The children's powers become a testing ground for empathy, cruelty, responsibility, and the boundaries of innocent play.
Forests, playgrounds, and family surroundings become threatening as hidden abilities produce strange and violent consequences.
Telepathy and mental manipulation operate through the children's interactions, curiosity, and experimentation instead of spectacle.
Films like The Innocents, and why
Let the Right One In
shares psychologically unsettling supernatural horror, child-centered perspective, and questions about morality
Pan's Labyrinth
shares eerie childhood fantasy, moral ambiguity, and a darkly atmospheric coming-of-age sensibility
Thelma
shares slow-building supernatural dread, ambiguous powers, and an intimate focus on children's emotional worlds
Thelma
shares minimalist Nordic horror, restrained tension, and ordinary environments made uncanny
Movie Details
- Director
- Eskil Vogt
- Release Date
- 2021-09-03
- Runtime
- 117 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (793)
Cast
- Rakel Lenora Fløttum
- Alva Brynsmo Ramstad
- Sam Ashraf
- Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim
- Ellen Dorrit Petersen
- Morten Svartveit
- Kadra Yusuf
- Lisa Tønne
- Irina Eidsvold Tøien
- Marius Kolbenstvedt
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Innocents about?
- Four children’s secret supernatural games turn a quiet summer into an unnerving study of empathy, cruelty, and moral awakening.
- What is The Innocents like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Innocents as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Innocents violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Innocents as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Innocents?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a chilling, atmospheric, and unusually perceptive supernatural thriller grounded in strong child performances and close observation of moral development.
- Which films are like The Innocents?
- Films with a similar feel include Let the Right One In, Pan's Labyrinth, Thelma, and Thelma.
- How long is The Innocents?
- The Innocents runs 117 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Innocents?
- In United States, The Innocents streams on Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel.
