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The Children
The Children of Ravensback
USA 1980
produced by Carlton J. Albright, Max Kalmanowicz for Albright Films
directed by Max Kalmanowicz
starring Martin Shakar, Gil Rogers, Gale Garnett, Shannon Bolin, Tracy Griswold, Joy Glaccum, Jeptha Evans, Clara Evans, Sarah Albright, Nathanael Albright, Julie Carrier, Michelle Le Mothe, Edward Terry, Peter Maloney, Jessie Abrams, Rita Montone, John P.Codiglia, Martin Brennan, J.D. Clarke, James Klawin, Ray Delmolino
written by Carlton J. Albright, Edward Terry, music by Harry Manfredini
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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A schoolbus is found on the middle of a street of a little rural
village, but all of the kids are gone, and the busdriver.
Soon sheriff Billy (Gil Rogers) and John (Martin Shakar), father of one
of the kids, Jenny (Clara Evans), take up investigations, but instead of
finding the children, they stumble over one corpse with a horribly
distorted face after the next. The truth - which our heroes only gradually
find out - is that the schoolbus went through a radioactive cloud, so all
of the children mutated, and now their hands are lethal, sucking all
lifeforce out of everyone who dares step into their way (which for some
reason also causes the distorted faces).
After much to and fro, sheriff Billy and John lock themselves in in
John's house, with his pregnant wife Cathy (Gale Garnett) and their little
son Clark (Jessie Abrams), and they realize they have to defend themselves
against a gang of small kids, including John and Cathy's daughter Jenny,
and the only way to kill them is to cut off their hands.
It all ends in our heroic duo eventually slaughtering the kids
(off-screen), but of course they have missed one which kills the sheriff
after the massacre is over, and is in turn killed by John ... then John's
wife ahs her baby.
But wait a minute ! Could it be that the baby's a mutant too.
True, The Children has its moments, a film about cute lethal
kids can't be all bad, but mostly it's just standard trash film
situations, out-of-pace storytelling, bad dialogue and wooden acting ...
as a trash enthusiast, you might like this film in parts, but there's
nothing here to get overly excited about. But in all fairness, I have seen
a lot worse !
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