Children
Of The Night (2014 aka Limbo/Artsploitation Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B- Extras: B Film: C+
Ivan
Noel's Children Of The Night (2014) is an Argentinian vampire
film along the lines of Let The Right One In or The Devil's
Backbone. The basic story is about a journalist who visits an
orphanage after receiving an odd message about a skin disease
affecting the children that reside there (many of the missing) but
instead, learns that they are really vampires that are up to a
hundred years old. Looking after them is a religious Matron and
things at first seem safe until, of course, a religious cult comes to
kill them.
The
film is shot interestingly with good performances and a creepy vibe
that actually works better being in another language then it would
English to add to the off kilter nature of the story. The Vampiric
Children are all dressed in white with many scenes that would
normally be shot during the day captured at night to add to the feel
that something is off, especially when they are first introduced.
The
most effective moments are when the children are in groups
interacting in unison which brings to mind The Children Of The
Corn or Village Of The Damned (both versions), only this
time with the Matron, is religiously pulling the strings and is
forcing them to be subdued. The story moves a little slow and is
obviously made with a small budget, but its interesting enough once
the action kicks in and gets a little bloody along the way.
The
film's presentation on disc is top notch with a sharp 1080p high
definition transfer with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track that sounds fine but not as
good as DTS-HD or another lossless format that would have been
preferred to this. The film was obviously shot in high definition
(using a Canon) with even colors throughout.
Extras
include Director's Commentary, a Making Of featurette, and a trailer
along with trailers for other releases by Artsploitation that look
pretty interesting.
All
in all, if you're a fan of foreign horror films, you can do a lot
worse than Children Of The Night.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.facebook.com/jhl5films
