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Information Exchange => Reader Comments => Topic started by: tv's Spatch on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM



Title: The Children
Post by: tv's Spatch on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
Amazing. I thought I was the only person who was genuinely freaked out by this film when I was younger. I remember seeing it on the USA Network's weekend creature feature show ("Commander USA's Groovy Movies") and, yes, not being able to sleep for a very very very long time after that.  I sat through Motel Hell just fine as a young'un, but The Children genuinely scared me witless.  Nice job, that.


Title: The Children
Post by: Chadzilla on December 17, 2001, 05:56:22 PM
The movie scared me when I was a kid as well, saw it on the big screen, on a double with Terror Train.  Oh how I lament the loss of low budget schlock in the theater - the one and only drawback to home video.


Title: The Children
Post by: Porn_Angel on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
i saw this movie when i was little, and i remember explicitly that in the tv guide, it described a "strange yellow cloud."  because i used exactly that phrase to convince my parents that i should see it.  well i did see it, and i was so SORRY!  but i was like, 6, so i was mostly sorry because it scared me.  don't laugh, it was 20 years ago!  but i was So scared, and the gotcha ending made me cry  i think it was the first time i had ever seen such a movie, and i was so scarred and trumatized for life, that i can't stop watching them now.  *wonders where she can rent this lil gem*


Title: The Children
Post by: David Fullam on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
For better or worse, I really miss the days of the regional, low budget, independant Horror film. Something is seriously wrong when you can't see great bad movies like this one on the big screen anymore. The same film makers would reunite years later to make "Luther the Geek," another weird little film. Lets hope that both get a DVD release one day, it's been too long since I have seen either.  


Title: The Children
Post by: Steve Bentley on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
I have to agree with both of the above...this movie scared the daylights out of me when I was a kid, and I, too, lament the passing of the drive-in/regional horror film.  I don't know about a dvd release, but I believe you can rent this turkey at most any rentrak store (these are often the mom & pop neighborhood stores that Blockbuster and Hollywood keep putting out of business).  It seems to be a requirement that they have either this, or a movie called RETURN OF THE ALIENS - DEADLY SPAWN, which by the way is another must-see!  I wasn't aware that these were the same folks who made LUTHER, though...Thanks for adding to my store of hopelessly useless bad movie trivia.  One day I'm gonna right a book...


Title: The Children
Post by: Brandi on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
Interesting bit of trivia: Cathy, the pregnant mom, is played by Gale Garnett, who voiced the babelicious Francesca in Mad Monster Party, and also inflicted the rather goopy popsong "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" upon the world...


Title: The Children
Post by: WellDonePlease on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
A great movie. I was working as a projectionist at the drive-in in the summer of 1980 and got to run this for a week of showings. I saw this again recently and noticed all the homosexual/lesbian content. It's obvious Dr. Gould is a raging dyke what with her piano playing partner and her obvious distaste for men, in this case the sheriff. Also note the 2 gay guys stopped at the roadblock and wanting to pass through into ravensback. I hear this will be coming out on DVD soon.


Title: The Children
Post by: Gary on August 24, 2001, 03:26:07 PM
I like this movie it is cool. How five kids turn into unemotional zombies who trick you into hugging them so they can kill you! Their evil eyes and pale complexions and black fingernails with the burning edge are scary. There should have been another boy. They killed the kids off too fast. This movie was in 1980, 2 years before I was born.


Title: The Children
Post by: Jimmy on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
I remember when this movie first came out and just the advertisement scared me!  I think it was back in January of 1981 that it appeared on cable on Showtime's After Hours.  Seeing it today one would find it hard to believe that it would be considered a movie that cable would only show at night, but then again that was back in the early 80's.  But I did not see it until years later when it was on USA and edited for television.  I actually remember having a nightmare before I even saw it!  My nightmare was actually scarier then the movie!!  If anyone knows if this movie can be downloaded off the internet, please let me know.  I would like to get a copy of it.  I have checked a few video stores and no one seems to have it.  Overall, even though this movie may seem cheesy today, it sure did scare the hell out of me as a kid!  Maybe one of these days we will see a remake of the film or even a sequel.


Title: The Children
Post by: JCM on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
This movie scared the royal bejeebers out of me when I was a kid.  I think it was because I never saw the whole roasted-alive thing coming.  I figured at worst the little brats pull out a butcher knife or something.  That and the child in the dress just has the most freaky "I'm enjoying your death immensely" look on her face.  Anyhow, I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one who saw this movie.  Whenever I mention it to my friends, like bdcham@hotmail.com I get reactions like "Oh, you mean Children of the Corn?"  Great stuff.  I wonder what ever happened to the kids.  Nothing about any further film careers on IMDB.


Title: The Children
Post by: Ric on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
This movie scared the s**t out of me when I was a kid, I could not sleep alone for an entire summer, after this.  Yet I am so compeled to watch this as many times as I can.  It is campy, low budget, and seminally effective in it's subtle approach. (even the movie poster is creepy).  Maybe one day we will see a DVD release with some behind the bad lighting footage, or where are they now stuff.   Another gem from 1980 is The Burning.  I recommend both.


Title: The Children
Post by: BC on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
It's good to know that I wasn't the only kid scared to death of this flick!  This one messed me up bad... this and Dawn of the Dead.  It also p**sed me off that nobody else knew what I was talking about, nobody seemed to know of this damn movie for years.  "Oh, you mean Children of the Corn???" they would say... hell no, this was worse. (But that one scared me, too)

Years later I was lucky enough to have someone from the internet dub me a copy.  I made my wife watch it and she thought it was cheesy.  I guess it kind of was after being grown up and looking at it again, but I was still afraid anyway.  In fact, I'm going to watch it tomorrow (it's been 5 years since I watched it last).  

PS: it looks like Amazon.com has it for $10 now... cool.


Title: The Children
Post by: bloodcult on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
Amazing. You know, you think your'e the only person who sees these movies, huh? I saw The Children several times when I was a kid and I found it pretty damn creepy. The fingernails perhaps?
Anyway it was my mom who picked this little gem up for us to watch, and it's something we all still remeber fondly. I think it creeped my mom out the most (no wonder). Anyhoo, this is highly reccomended - and so is Don't Look In The Basement - another one  my mom got for us as kids. Gawd bless 'er.


Title: The Children
Post by: Downtown on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
This movie freaked me out as a kid. I watched it with my mom, she was into all these scary movies. I never remembered the name of the movie, when I did a search, I typed in the things I remembered, toxic cloud, black fingernails, 80's movie. Sure enough I got this site. Thank God there are others out there, I've only met one other person who knew about this movie, and they did not remember the name either! Just the black fingernails....thanks guys.


Title: The Children
Post by: Rick on August 29, 2002, 06:59:05 AM
This is my favourite film of all time and i am not ashamed to admit it.I have been searching for a copy for 8 years because in the uk it is very rare and luckily i found it on ebay.com and won the auction.I think It is very scary the first time you see it I had nightmares for days but once you have seen it 5 or 6 times it doesnt seem scary but it is brilliant I have a large collection of videos all rare well most and this is my favourite.


Title: The Children
Post by: Kisha on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
I believe that we are all talking about the same movie. If so thanks for helping me with the name. I know that I saw this movie when I was younger on what was called " The Movie Loft" with Dana Hershey. I don't know if you all remember that. Anyways, all I could remember was the childrens' hands were held out to their grandmother for a hug and the children had black fingernails and if they touched you they died. The night that I was watching this they went to commecial after that scene. That was stuck in my memory for years until now. Thanks


Title: The Children
Post by: James Perry on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
Ditto on the freaked-out-as-a-kid with this flick!  But now it just looks funny.  They need to rake these things to DVD for laughs!  We'd buy em!  


Title: The Children
Post by: AcidXian on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
This is one of my favorite low-budget trash flicks and was probably the last gasp of twisted 70s horror cinema (even though it was released in 1980) before slasher movies took over.  This was the kind of movie you'd go to see at the drive-in as the second film on a double bill with a much better movie.  One of my fondest memories from childhood is seeing short trailers for films like "The Children" on television, and then plotting on how I would get to see them.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), films like this don't really get made anymore, so we'll have to cherish films like "The Children".


Title: The Children
Post by: DoesItMatter? on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
The other day my little granddaughter (22 months old) kept smiling and coming at me with her hands out, acting like she was all sweet and everything. But she really wanted to bite my shoulder. She was relentless in her pursuit to bite me. First thing I did - I checked her fingernails to see if they were black!!!! It's been 22 years since I've seen this movie, and I was pregnant with my gdd's mother at the time! I told my granddaughter that if she started saying, "mama" in that weird way, that I was going to chop her hands off. So, naturally, she started saying it. It's kinda freaky to see your 22 mo old granddaughter coming at you with her hands outstretched, saying, "mama!" Knowing good and well that all she wanted to do was be mean!
Do you think she is one of "The" children?


Title: The Children
Post by: BloodyJockstrapofDOOM!!!! on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
I had to comment here...i have loved this movie since i was very young!Here let me set the scene: evening household sometime during the schoolyear in 1980...i was a 5 year old kid goin into first grade and i was pretty much able to decern for myself what i wanted to watch on television even at that age but in the case of The Children i think my parents were actually going to watch anyway so..i sat there eating a sandwich and drinking a Dr.Pepper too.
heheheh how can you remember this so vividly? man i couldnt say...the movie did sortof frighten me at the time but it was also in that same year i would see the elephant man and i think i had watched salems lot the year before...yeh a 4 year old watching that..anyway its a weird parallel when your scred but thourally enjoy the feeling of being scared-THATS ME!!
so anyway,i also remember a time that same year at school being made to stay after school because i didnt understand the paper we were supposed to work on...that b***h Mrs Woodworth not only yelled at me when i was the only kid there but also couldnt be bothered to call my mom and tell her where i was so when i didnt come home my mom called the school...and she was hella p**sed at her which i enjoyed her hitting the roof when i said she already had spanked me!
but anyway...my point of this movie was after i got the ass whiping i totally ignored the teacher and took my trusty #02 pencil and started to colour in my fingernails maybe in some vauge hope i could get that flesh burning effect i so desperatly needed at that moment...unfortunatly it didnt work out to my hoped specificaltion...but that movie made a BIG impression on me and always loved it...i do remember taping it back in the very early 90s when it was on saturday nightmares and also seeing it on Comander USA's Groovie Movies(i watched him religiously ever Sat at noon sharp!!!)heheheh i was also a KISS fan and as a kid noticed that some members also wore black fingernail polish...i wondered if they saw the movie too,which now obviously i know better...tons of people wore it in rock...but none the less i pictured Gene $immons and Ace Frehley sizzling evil non fans of KISS to pizza equivilant!!! FUN FUN FUN!!! thanks for reading my rambling and zombie stumble down my childhood memories.....oh and i have plans as a young film maker to try to remake this film if i can get clearence fromm Rhino:)) scared yet?


Title: The Children
Post by: Seiferzangel on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
Wow, I can't believe I found this website. I first saw "The Children" back when I was a little girl growing in up in Russia on a Russian channel that showed American movies. The movie has haunted me ever since. Any time anyone asks me what's the scariest movie I have ever seen, I have to say "The Children".  It scared the living hell out of me when I saw it. My grandmother let me watch the channel when my mom was away. Boy, I bet she regretted that considering I woke up screaming with nightmares for over a month since seeing the movie. Looking at the clip and the screen shots now, I think how cheesy, but that was one scary movie when you are seven years old. I thought if I fell asleep I would wake up with those five kids standing over me, extending their little arms, showing me their creepy black fingernails. *shudders* I am so glad that so many people relate to how I felt about this movie.  Does anyone know where I can get a copy of it besides Amazon? Is it available on the internet anywhere? I am going to see the Dawn of the Dead in theaters this weekend. I can only hope it will scare me as much as "the Children." Well, then again, maybe not... :-)


Title: The Children
Post by: Jason on August 21, 2004, 12:31:29 PM
Ah, those great memories of lazy Saturday afternoons watching this and several other B-movies on USA many years ago. Hopefully, The Horror Channel that launches in October can recapture some of that horror movie magic.


Title: The Children
Post by: Greg on September 07, 2004, 02:00:41 PM
I loved this movie.  I miss the old B horror movies.  Go to the theater sometime and see the lousy stuff being put out now...........


Title: The Children
Post by: moviecollector on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
well, yesterday I went to a Half-priced used video/cd/video game store & guess what movie I saw there? :)

My jaw dropped in amazement when I looked on the top shelf in the Horror video section. I quickly grabbed this movie & found out it was only $3
To think, I've seen this go up to $20 & more on Ebay, I found it for only $3

Now, I've never seen this b4, I wasnt fortunate like some people here to see it as a child.
So, I watched it last night & thought it was pretty fun & it had its creepy moments too.

Of course, the acting is bad & the dialogue is cheesy in spots, but damn it, I really enjoyed this movie. It was definately worth spending $3 on.  


Title: The Children
Post by: James on November 25, 2006, 04:09:49 PM
Thank you all! I love evrey single one of you! lol I have been trying to figure out the name of this movie for many, many years, ever since I saw part of this movie when I was a little kid late night on TNT. I remembered nothing else but those two facts: the kids had black fingernails, and it was shown on TNT. FInally, the Mystery of the Two Movies has been completely solved! It was this one and DOn't BE Afraid of the Dark, another movie that I couldn't remember the name of, but I did remember that it had little creatures that didn't like the light, and at the end, the woman got dragged down a chimney. Now if I can just get these two classics on DVD...


Title: The Children
Post by: Bridget on November 25, 2006, 04:10:12 PM
This is so weird!!!!!!!! This movie scared the crap out of me as a kid too,I've been asking around about it for I don't know how long and nobody knew what I was talking about!! I kept telling them there was a bus wreck,and kids with black nails that touched people and they burned to death, then they would say "Children of the Corn"!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!! I finally decided tonight to try the internet, and also typed in what I could remember,mainly the black fingernails. I thought I was the only one to ever see this movie and started to believe maybe it didn't exsist and I was crazy!!!!! Well, thankyou everyone for proving me wrong on being crazy ( LOL )....


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: Jeremiah on July 11, 2007, 07:32:06 AM
This has got to be the weirdest thing I have ever been a part of.  It seems we all have the same experience with this movie.  You've read it already but I have to tell my story.  I'm 26 now and I was about 5 when I was at a friends house and this strange movie was on his TV.  Well the only thing I remembered was the black fingernails.  Until today I didn't know the name and I was sure I never would.  Every now and again the memory pops in my head.  Well today I decided after 21 years to get this itch scratched.  Now I just have to find it because I have GOT to watch this movie.  Seems so weird that so many folks have such a similar story about the same movie.


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: Marcus on November 21, 2007, 11:01:34 AM
I'll just echo what everyone else has said here.  Im 28 now, watched this probably 20 yrs ago, and was terrified.  I actually slept w/ a plastic knife in my pillow case for weeks in case I had to do any hand chopping. 

Just ordered the dvd...can't wait to see it again.


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: Justy on November 21, 2007, 06:25:01 PM
I'll add my name to the list of kids who's nights were traumatized by this movie. I remember seeing this at the local drive-in when I was 7. This was a double-feature with Death Ship. I had fallen asleep early into Death Ship, but I saw The Children. When it was on it's first cable run in the 80's I saw it whenever it was on. The movie totally freaked me out, but I had to watch it. This movie, Dawn of the Dead and The 78 version of Invasion of the Body Snatcher's all movies that kept me awake at night.


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: Thee Dr. on October 11, 2008, 02:52:04 AM
This comment is a little off-topic-I never saw this one but one commenter mentioned 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'-it scared the s**t out of me as aliitle kid-my sister would tease me about it-the whispering voices are CREEPY AS f**k and entirely unforgettable.


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: JPickettIII on July 21, 2009, 11:03:49 AM
I saw this movie when I was a youngster.  I saw it with my mom.  We got it on VHS.  What a funny movie.  This review brought back some good memories.   I will have to watch it again.  Thanks Andrew.

 :cheers:


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: torgo70 on March 20, 2010, 04:22:38 PM
Like everyone on here I saw this as a kid. The first time I saw it was on Commander USA's Groovy Movies on USA Network back in the 80's. They need to release a better DVD than the crappy Troma release.


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: Andoc on October 08, 2010, 10:59:35 AM
Where's Obi Wan when you need him?


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: ECM on January 12, 2011, 08:44:49 AM
Just wanna say thanks: I've thought of this film, off and on, for, like, 20 years now and I finally had the 'luck' to think of it while actually sitting at the computer and, lo and behold, I now know the title *and* that it's on DVD :)


Title: Re: The Children
Post by: CalrissianFoxxSteele on November 10, 2011, 12:54:30 AM
only good thing is the makeup and burning effects...AAANND that's about it.