I do feel as if the time jumps were strange and felt disjointed вЂ“ I think we should have started at one point in time and just had hints and minor dialogue mentions to what they showed: like the kid is advanced, he was developing quickly, he likes to kill bugs, etc. Several jumpscare moments right at the beginning. I like the paranoia that begins to set in early as the parents discover that something is wrong with Miles вЂ“ I wish it was played up more, but I liked the doctor saying вЂњ DonвЂ™t trust anything your son says.вЂќ This is good because it makes the character feel more real and lived-in and it gives him a legitimate plot-driven reason to separate himself from the proceedings/rest of the film (heвЂ™s afraid he will hurt Miles when Miles starts actingвЂ¦ even weirder than usual) I like the character beat that the dad had a physically abusive father when he was young and is afraid of turning into that kind of monster. Man, the kid taking a wrench and beating his classmate senseless with it was brutal! (Though I have to say, it did seem to come out of nowhere вЂ“ I mean, surely the kid has felt anger before, did he take a wrench to anyone who ticked him off from grades 1 вЂ“ 4?) The babysitter stepping on a piece of glass protruding from the stairs in bare feet was pulled directly from A Quiet Place, but it is still effective and makes you cringe. It was creepy when the toddler got out of his crib and started speaking in tongues. If you can think of a new take, a new twist or new direction to take this concept, more power to you and you are certainly on the right track to getting your script greenlit! This is a long-winded way to say that the вЂњkiller kidвЂќ story/theme/trope is one that has been used in literature, film and television to unsettle and scare us and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. It is important to watch films in the genre and not just to watch them, but to always watch critically and analytically вЂ“ so you can mentally digest the tropes, the tone, what worked, what didnвЂ™t work, etc. The answer is not always easy (if it was, everyone would be a screenwriter!) but is vital if you are crafting a horror story. This is something to keep in mind as you are writing your next horror masterpiece: what is a universal fear or a universal theme that you can explore and represent in a new, unique way that has not been done before? The loss of innocence of a child (an innocent being) or a child being completely devoid of empathy and/or purity plays to an ingrained sense of dread in us, as that is so far removed from what we expect from a young person. So, what does this have to do with horror films or the tried-and-true concept of a killer child? The best horror films and stories play with universal themes and ideas of what humans are afraid of: Death ( We Go On) Darkness ( Lights Out) Sexually Transmitted Diseases ( It Follows) Birth and Motherhood ( AlienВ & Aliens) It is a time when we grow, learn and discover ourselves and our values and, while it comes with ups and downs certainly, is typically considered at least a pleasant time. In addition, childhood is typically seen as a worry-free time of innocence and discovery.

Well, even though I have a degree in psychology, I wonвЂ™t claim to be the expert on fears, the human condition or the human mind, but I think it has something to do with the way that many/most adults view children вЂ“ as innocent creatures that have yet to experience real hardship or true disillusionment.

What is it about children turning evil that scares us so much? Why is the thought of an everyday child or group of children committing a heinous act (s) so alien to us? And why does this formula and this concept continue to be repeated throughout the years? And, throughout the decades, we have always been treated to a вЂњkiller childвЂќ feature or two, such as, The BroodВ (1979), Children of the CornВ (1984), The Good SonВ (1993), and even OrphanВ (2009). The idea of children/a child being вЂњevilвЂќ can be traced back as far back into film history as 1956вЂ™s The Bad Seed. Before we jump into the film, I wanted to talk briefly about the вЂњcreepy kidвЂќ (as I like to call them) horror subgenre.

The prodigy 2019