It could be said that William Malone's inclusion in the roster of "Masters of Horror" auteurs somewhat dampens the credibility of the series, since the most marginally successful films to his credit are the fitfully entertaining HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL remake and the more unfortunate FEARdotCOM, both made for Dark Castle Pictures. (I don't think anybody's doing him any favors by mentioning SCARED TO DEATH or CREATURE.)
But since the series also features the presence of directors with even less extensive pedigrees, (though it's arguable that Lucky McKee's one film, MAY, runs rings around some of his colleagues with two-dozen films under their belt), what's more important here is the quality of the episodes produced NOW, not the past work.
CHILD, not surprisingly, doesn't stray very far from the concepts and imagery that made HOHH work in the first place. Which is fine, since writer Matt Greenberg provides only about as much originality as he's been accustomed to summoning up, working on scripts for sequels, (HALLOWEEN H2O, THE PROPHECY II.)
Your regular parochial school outcast, the shy and sullen Tara (Lindsay Pulsipher) is shlumping through her usual miserable day at school, probably not expecting much of anything different to happen when all of a sudden it does...she gets blindsided by a mysterious van, whose driver (William Samples) provides the dazed and bruised schoolgirl with an unusual form of assistance...he chloroforms her, and dumps her unconscious body into the back of the van.
When she awakens, she finds herself in the proverbial Big and Evil House In The Woods, being "looked after" by Judith (Lori Petty), a 'nurse'with a rather disagreeable bedside manner and the driver of the van, Anton, who turns out to be Judith's hubby.
When Tara turns from sullen to shrilly uncooperative, Judith and Anton toss her ass-over-teakettle into a basement right out of a Goya painting, where she discovers a pitiful and terrified young boy, Johnny (Jesse Haddock), who is almost speechless with fear, warning Tara of something else in the basement with them that lives there, something that's coming back, soon. Once discovered, the secret of that hideous "something" informs the two teens that they are locked in a life-and-death-struggle with supernatural forces that one or both of them may not survive, and they have their adult captors to thank for it...
As usual, all is not what it seems, and those with infinite patience will be rewarded with a twisted yet satisfying ending, pretty typical of this and other horror anthology series' more "middle-of-the-roadkill' episodes.
Kind of a "Hansel and Gretel" retelling stood on its head by the musings of H. P. Lovecraft, CHILD is mostly okay, but not a great hour-long short. Petty and Samples' delusional and distraught parents at times threaten to go so far over the top in their portrayals, that you almost expect them to grow 'Snidely Whiplash' mustaches they can conveniently twirl between every line or so. And Pulsipher's Tara alternates mostly between shrilly petulant and MORE shrilly petulant, inspiring such irritation at times that one might find one's self hoping that what's coming to destroy them will eat her first, and SOON.
Haddock seems to be the only one playing his part just right. Johnny's pain and terror are completely palpable, and he makes you feel for his character, even once the "secret" of the Fair-Haired Child is revealed, (and more observant viewers will know what that is about a minute and a half after meeting Johnny).
Nothing to rave about, director Malone keeps CHILD at least as entertaining and occasionally creepy as the better parts of HOHH. Maybe with more experience, more time and a better budget, he could put something together one of these days that will really break us out in egg-sized goosebumps. For now, CHILD gets ** out of **** stars.
But since the series also features the presence of directors with even less extensive pedigrees, (though it's arguable that Lucky McKee's one film, MAY, runs rings around some of his colleagues with two-dozen films under their belt), what's more important here is the quality of the episodes produced NOW, not the past work.
CHILD, not surprisingly, doesn't stray very far from the concepts and imagery that made HOHH work in the first place. Which is fine, since writer Matt Greenberg provides only about as much originality as he's been accustomed to summoning up, working on scripts for sequels, (HALLOWEEN H2O, THE PROPHECY II.)
Your regular parochial school outcast, the shy and sullen Tara (Lindsay Pulsipher) is shlumping through her usual miserable day at school, probably not expecting much of anything different to happen when all of a sudden it does...she gets blindsided by a mysterious van, whose driver (William Samples) provides the dazed and bruised schoolgirl with an unusual form of assistance...he chloroforms her, and dumps her unconscious body into the back of the van.
When she awakens, she finds herself in the proverbial Big and Evil House In The Woods, being "looked after" by Judith (Lori Petty), a 'nurse'with a rather disagreeable bedside manner and the driver of the van, Anton, who turns out to be Judith's hubby.
When Tara turns from sullen to shrilly uncooperative, Judith and Anton toss her ass-over-teakettle into a basement right out of a Goya painting, where she discovers a pitiful and terrified young boy, Johnny (Jesse Haddock), who is almost speechless with fear, warning Tara of something else in the basement with them that lives there, something that's coming back, soon. Once discovered, the secret of that hideous "something" informs the two teens that they are locked in a life-and-death-struggle with supernatural forces that one or both of them may not survive, and they have their adult captors to thank for it...
As usual, all is not what it seems, and those with infinite patience will be rewarded with a twisted yet satisfying ending, pretty typical of this and other horror anthology series' more "middle-of-the-roadkill' episodes.
Kind of a "Hansel and Gretel" retelling stood on its head by the musings of H. P. Lovecraft, CHILD is mostly okay, but not a great hour-long short. Petty and Samples' delusional and distraught parents at times threaten to go so far over the top in their portrayals, that you almost expect them to grow 'Snidely Whiplash' mustaches they can conveniently twirl between every line or so. And Pulsipher's Tara alternates mostly between shrilly petulant and MORE shrilly petulant, inspiring such irritation at times that one might find one's self hoping that what's coming to destroy them will eat her first, and SOON.
Haddock seems to be the only one playing his part just right. Johnny's pain and terror are completely palpable, and he makes you feel for his character, even once the "secret" of the Fair-Haired Child is revealed, (and more observant viewers will know what that is about a minute and a half after meeting Johnny).
Nothing to rave about, director Malone keeps CHILD at least as entertaining and occasionally creepy as the better parts of HOHH. Maybe with more experience, more time and a better budget, he could put something together one of these days that will really break us out in egg-sized goosebumps. For now, CHILD gets ** out of **** stars.