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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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 !

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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