Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- eerie
- foreboding
- disturbing
- halloween night
- christmas horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an unsettling, effectively frightening low-budget British horror movie with disturbing child-centered violence and strong atmosphere.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Elaine, Jonah, Chloe, and Robbie must confront the threat posed by their own children while remaining emotionally committed to protecting them.
The families gather at an isolated country home where worsening weather and distance from help heighten the danger.
The New Year and Christmas-season setting contrasts festive family rituals with increasingly malevolent children and disturbing violence.
The children appear sick before becoming unpredictable and hostile, exploiting adults' assumptions about innocence and vulnerability.
Films like The Children, and why
The Omen
shared killer-child premise, supernatural dread, and taboo family horror
The Shining
shared isolated-family setting, escalating domestic terror, and psychologically disturbing horror
Krampus
shared holiday setting, survival horror structure, and darkly comic violence
The Innocents
shared children-centered menace, bleak atmosphere, and unsettling supernatural ambiguity
Movie Details
- Director
- Tom Shankland
- Release Date
- 2008-12-05
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (432)
Cast
- Eva Birthistle
- Hannah Tointon
- Stephen Campbell Moore
- Rachel Shelley
- Jeremy Sheffield
- Rafiella Brooks
- Jake Hathaway
- William Howes
- Eva Sayer
Common questions
- What is The Children about?
- During a festive family gathering at a remote country house, a mysterious sickness transforms children into merciless threats to the adults who love them.
- What is The Children like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Children as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Children violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Children as brutal.
- What did critics think of The Children?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an unsettling, effectively frightening low-budget British horror movie with disturbing child-centered violence and strong atmosphere.
- Which films are like The Children?
- Films with a similar feel include The Omen, The Shining, Krampus, and The Innocents.
- How long is The Children?
- The Children runs 84 minutes.
