Writer(s): Serrador, from a novel by Juan Jose Plans
Starring: Lewis Fiander, Prunella Ransome, and Antonio Iranzo
Who could kill a child? If taken out of context, a more appropriate question might be, “Who would want to kill a child?” But director Narciso Ibanez Serrador (who also wrote the script, based on a novel by Juan Jose Plans) has a perfectly good reason for asking that question: The children in question aren't normal kids, but vicious murderers, who are inexplicably driven to kill any adult that crosses their path after hearing mysterious voices late one night.
Murderous kids have long been a staple of the horror film, appearing in films like The Omen, or Village of the Damned, or Children of the Corn, or The Brood, or Ils (Them), or...I think you get the point: Evil children are nothing new. But where many films simply toss them in and rely on the “Oh look, a scary kid!” from the audience, Who Can Kill a Child? really explores the idea from multiple facets, resulting in a criminally-underrated horror film that should be at the top of everyone's “must-see” list.
Tom and Evelyn are a newly-married English couple who head to a busy Spanish island during a festival. Evelyn is content to stay there, but Tom has a better idea of how to spend their time: traveling by boat to a more tranquil island called Almanzora, that he had visited twelve years prior. She reluctantly agrees, despite being so pregnant that she could literally pop at any moment. Tom rents a boat, and before anyone knows it, they are being pulled into a dock by several friendly children. Aaaah, life seems to be going swell for the husband and wife. How could things be any better?
Well, there could be other people around, for one. The entire town is desolate, save for the odd child seen strolling about, stopping only to smile and giggle at the English guests, but offering nothing else in the way of help. Where have all the adults gone? The hotel, the bar, the general store...all of these places are completely devoid of people, although there are remnants left behind that hint there were others around, and not too long ago, either. It is only after Tom and Evelyn witness a young child beating an old man to death that Tom and Evelyn get a glimpse of what the children are capable of. Soon, they realize they're going to have to go against decades of common decency, and off a few if they are to make it off the island alive...
Heading into a viewing of this, I really expected a low-budget film that got what small following it has simply from the brilliance of its idea. I'm pretty sure I'm correct about the low-budget part, but contrary to my thoughts, you don't gather that from watching it: it's unusually well-made. The acting is pretty good, it's more than competently shot, and the soundtrack—which is beyond simple—works brilliantly in heightening the tension in otherwise droll scenes. All of this is especially impressive considering that it's a Spanish production from the 1970s. No offense to Spaniards, but their contributions to the horror genre weren't realized until fairly recently, thanks to a spate of well-received films like the [REC] series and The Orphanage bringing attention to Spanish efforts. It's also surprising considering director Serrenado worked primarily as a television director—this was one of only two theatrical films he ever directed (the first, and his debut, was 1970s The House That Screamed).
The film that I can perhaps best compare it to, in terms of “suspense structure” is The Descent: There, the claustrophobic setting of an underground cave lead to several tense moments before the creatures even made an appearance. Here, it's the exact opposite, with the wide openness of the terrain, paired with the clues of the complete sudden abandonment of the town, that leads to chills before we even catch a glimpse of a child; or at least, before we know what they are capable of. Serrador proves himself to be adept at wringing tension from the mundane: a ringing telephone here, a sudden closing of blinds there...scenes that wouldn't even register as a blip in most films, always threaten to become moments of terror.
That's not to discount the effectiveness of many later scenes when Tom and Evelyn start to understand exactly what they are up against. In fact, the film works so well because it defies the modern workings of the evil child subgenre, which seems to think that evil children are only scary when they are trying as hard as possible to be scary. The killer kids here work the opposite way, to much greater effect: They are normal children on the outside, smiling and polite, and they use those innocent characteristics to lure adults to their deaths (their presence is often hinted at in the soundtrack, with the sound of giggles, and it truly sends chills down the spine).
Wisely, the film never explains why the children are acting the way they are; rather unwisely, our only clues come from an unnecessarily protracted opening credits sequence, featuring actual footage of dead children spanning across several different wars. The point, which is also specifically made later by another character within the film, is that children suffer the most during times of turmoil; by this thought process, I guess we are supposed to surmise that they are rebelling for all of the hardships that the decisions of adults have put them through. I love the idea of keeping the specific reasons secret—too many films feel the need to go into too much detail, which often ruins the mystery aspect of it all—but the intro was just too much. To some extent, I have to admit that it's effective, because my wife and I sat in stunned silence, unable to even look at our plates of food for the entire duration of it, but it ultimately serves no purpose beyond apparently being a half-assed attempt to justify the actions of the children.
But once you stomach (or fast-forward through) that, Who Can Kill a Child? quickly becomes a near-masterclass of building tension, and while it can't maintain it evenly throughout, there are enough twists and turns that it will hold your attention from beginning to end. Speaking of the ending, it's rather obvious how it's going to play out, but the final shots still sent chills shooting down my spine. A must for fans of the genre.
RATING: 8.5/10
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