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The Children

Play trailer Poster for The Children R Released Jul 13, 1980 1h 30m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 40% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Gas leaking from a nuclear-power plant turns children into zombies who burn those they touch.
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The Children

Critics Reviews

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Gary Arnold Washington Post The Children is a feeble reminder of an exploitation trend seen at its most ruthless in a picture like It's Alive! Everything considered, it's difficult to resent The Children for being too inept to become equally hateful. Dec 21, 2015 Full Review Michael W. Phillips, Jr. Goatdog's Movies The "scary little kid" subgenre has never been scarier or more nihilistic. Rated: 4/5 Mar 19, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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tanya m This was a great old school basic horror movie. I just saw it on Tubi. Ending was great Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/18/24 Full Review Jeepers C This movie is a guilty pleasure of mine. It's premise is simple, but works none the less. The story begins on the bus ride home from school. The bus drives through some toxic gas and turns the children into radioactive killers. They stalk all the adults in town, looking for adults to hug to death. It's not as crazy as Children of the Corn, but still has that vibe. I am a sucker for old 80's horror movies. The theme to Friday the 13th even makes an appearance. Lol Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/26/24 Full Review Kit V Well this is one rotten B movie, BUT, these actors are doing everything in thier power to make it work. It is for this reason alone that I like it, carnky plot, wooden acting but ten out of ten for effort. Its a one brain cell idea with a one cylinder engine that somehow manages to tickle the right places. Just good old fashioned viewing if viewed witout the HOLLYWOOD lens. I have seen far worse. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/24 Full Review S R This is a painfully slow and boring movie. The concept isn't bad but the execution is terrible. Troma really shouldn't try to do serious movies. This isn't scary or fun to watch. It's around 90 minutes long and it still feels far too long. I genuinely struggled to finish watching this one because of how bored I was. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/19/24 Full Review Audience Member It was a fun move I just discovered thanks to GLC. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review bill t Pretty amazing movie here. This movie about a bus full of kids that meets a cloud of nuclear gas emitted by a power plant. They turn, I guess, into zombies, and start wreaking havok in the town. They've just so many questions about the plot of this film. Apparently that kids can only kill with their hands, why is this? How did this happen? If they hug somebody, that person becomes toast. Like, their whole body starts frying. Again, why is this? And why does it appear that the children, and the children's families, and the sheriff or two, are the only people in the town? I havent Even started. What really fascinates me about this movie is the unexplained character arcs that litter this movie. Let's start with the first woman the children kill. She seemed to have a chip on her shoulder because of something the sheriff did. What was that? We don't know because she's soon killed after that. She's also apparently looking after an invalid. It seemed that the invalid had a connection to the sheriff as well, but that's left hanging. And on it goes, couples are fighting for no reason, ladies are sun tanning in the nude with sweaty bodybuilders, etc. Etc. Etc. Finally, everyone says "Goddamnit" a lot. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Children

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Gas leaking from a nuclear-power plant turns children into zombies who burn those they touch.
Director
Max Kalmanowicz
Producer
Max Kalmanowicz
Screenwriter
Carlton J. Albright, Edward Terry
Distributor
Rhino Entertainment Company [us], World Northal, Vestron Pictures
Production Co
Albright Films Inc.
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 13, 1980, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 9, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Stereo
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