'There's Something Wrong with the Children' by Roxanne Benjamin Review: A concoction of ideas, but rather weak

I have known for a long time now that anything under the name of Blumhouse is likely to be incredibly low budget, and likely weak. A studio that came into popularity with independent horror films around the same time that A24 was rising into fame with its own entries. Due to this I have always looked at Blumhouse as the younger, less experienced brother of A24. A production company that isn't afraid to throw money at independent filmmakers, but knows that the result is not likely to be great. My favourite entry of theirs being Upgrade. A small film with some fun and well done cyberpunk elements. This is to also admit that the production company can in fact make some unique indie hits; it has proven so. The weakest of their films is always the horror ones, filled with tropes and general filmmaking mistakes that stem from younger indie filmmakers that perhaps haven't had a whole lot of experience. There's Something Wrong with the Children is one of these titles, one that fails to really do anything right, while offering some interesting ideas within its runtime.

Though with Blumhouse comes an appreciate for their efforts to try. The risk and money thrown into younger, less experienced filmmakers is one that is rare these days as greater Hollywood fears anything that doesn't make not only its money back, but twice that sum. As much as I come to dislike much of their films, I certainly respect them for still making them. And I'm sure there's a demographic out there certainly still enjoying these entries for them to continue throwing them out. Weak films are needed in this era of cinema, for they not only remain free from the giants of Hollywood, but serve as a way for creatives to try and learn; something I came to discover in my own earlier days of getting into the film industry.

I see There's Something Wrong with the Children as one of these examples. A low budget film with a relatively tight cast, but a plethora of things discovered as a result of its production. An exploration into a genre and what can be done with it, even if much of it doesn't necessarily work in a successful manner. It would be easy to claim it is a bad film, though I noticed its weaknesses were more a result of the aforementioned reasons. And having looked up those who made the film, I can't help but think of the people I myself have worked with; ones that kept trying, gaining awareness of their own interests, and finding the middleground. That said, I wouldn't call it a good film, either.

At a glance There's Something Wrong with the Children is your typical low budget horror flick that has a simplistic narartive: two families out on a trip together come across an old, abandoned location. One of which that is surrounded by growth and far from civilisation. Its strange halls contain some dead birds and a weird deep hole with some steps leading to it. From this point on, pretty much immediately, weird things begin to happen to the children and they take on a more menacing attitude. There have been films like in this in the past in which the children are turned evil by some strange force, causing them to slowly kill off the adults around them; there is even one in which it happens to the grandparents instead of the children. The film is effectively this, with some minor hints at some otherworldy influence taking over the children and causing them to behave in a threatening way. Though there is much more to the film, and it seems like much of this aspect of its narrative is a mere metaphor.

There's Something Wrong with the Children goes beyond the idea of children being turned into maniacs and running around killing people off. It instead attempts to explore the idea of how manipulative and horrific children can actually be. And the ways in which they can manipulate adults and turn them against each other. After all, does a parent often believe their child is incapable of wrongdoing or do they believe the adult making the claims? There's Something Wrong with the Children wants you to see the nature of children in a negative manner, showing the evil that can be found within them. I think it speaks a lot regarding our culture, as well as the ways in which parenthood itself can warp the mind and your perception of people. How it turns you into someone perhaps too trusting. The film doesn't explore this idea all that well, but there are hints at it throughout.

Alongside this the film also tries to compare the children to the adults. As to say that neither are really any good, showing how adults lie and are complex individuals. It shows this weird contrast between just complex, confused and selfish adults to possessed children out to cause harm. Perhaps to make the claim that the two aren't really that different, as to state a point that maybe we don't really grow out of it. Though this doesn't work out that well again, things feel scattered and too mixed in with the story that threatens its characters. But even so, the performances don't really seem to carry much seriousness to them, even in the face of death things still feel very flat. I could make the argument that this was intentional as to again pursue the idea that these adults too are selfish and don't really care about anyone but themselves, but I feel that would be a stretch.

It is the cinematography and directing that seems to be the film's strength. It is shot rather well, with nice bokeh that almost looked a little anamorphic in parts. Rather nice lighting in its scenes that made things visually quite appealing. But with weak performances, and a very weak score that comes in and out at strange intervals, never really suiting the atmosphere and events on the screen. Whoever chose the music definitely is to blame for much of the film's lack of substance. It pulled us out of an already weak atmosphere and story; to which at moments I found myself really surprised that someone actually approved the final edit. Suspense was lost quickly, and any reason to care for the characters was never really present. Not to say that the characters themselves were easy to dislike, but that there wasn't much depth to them beyond an incredibly millennial nature.

It very much screams indie film, where things feel very scattered and without much idea of which direction it all wants to take. As a result it tries to take too many directions at the same time to which none of them really lead anywhere. By the time things really start to take off, it ends. Though as I mentioned in the opening, I appreciate Blumhouse and the film's indie filmmakers for trying. Some things were done well, other things not so much. It's still a film you might enjoy throwing on over a Sunday to half pay attention to, but I'd argue it barely belongs in the thriller or horror genres.