May 21, 2012

Bad Seeds, Devil Children & Orphans: Cinema’s Creepiest Kids

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published July 22, 2009

(Page 2)

The Omen (1976)
directed by Richard Donner
Everyone’s favorite devil-spawn, Damien, makes his first appearance in this highly successful thriller, partly inspired by the success of The Exorcist, which was released three years prior. Helmed by action veteran Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon), The Omen revolves around an American ambassador (Gregory Peck) who learns, after a series of grisly murders involving people close to him, that his five-year-old adopted son is quite literally the Anti-Christ. Featuring a number of tense, well-executed set-pieces (including the infamous David Warner decapitation) as well as quite possibly the scariest nanny in movie history (Billie Whitelaw as Mrs. Baylock), The Omen remains a stone cold classic, with an unnerving performance from Harvey Stephens as a seemingly normal child who just so happens to have the numbers “666” carved into the back of his head. The popularity of The Omen lead to three sequels as well as an uninspired 2006 remake written by David Seltzer, the original film’s scribe.

Children of the Corn (1984)
directed by Fritz Kiersch
Based on a chilling Stephen King short story, this creepy horror flick stars Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton as a young couple traveling cross-country. The pair, in a move they’ll soon regret, take a pit stop in a desolate Nebraska town, where there’s no sign of any adults. Unfortunately, the kiddies in the town are alive and well and all belong to a cult dedicated to sacrificing new visitors to their “god,” a malevolent force that lives in the corn fields. A twisted take on Village of the Damned (which featured a cavalcade of similarly zombie-like kids with murderous intentions), Children of the Corn proves that it’s probably best not to explore overgrown corn fields (or, for that matter, empty towns without an adult in sight.)

Joshua (2007)
directed by George Ratliff
Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga (who, after this movie and Orphan, can probably be named “Queen of the Evil Kiddie Genre") play the proud parents of nine-year-old Joshua and a newborn little girl. With the arrival of his baby sister, however, Joshua becomes increasingly jealous and the odd, eccentric boy’s behavior soon turns sinister. This subtle, effective thriller didn’t make much of a splash at the box office, but is well worth seeing for its ambiguous approach to the material (Is Joshua really crazy or are his parents, already tense for a variety of reasons, looking too much into things?)

What’s your own pick for cinema’s creepiest kids? Add your choices to the COMMENTS section below!

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Comment by pest control services on 2/16/10 at 1:07 pm: The Bad Seed was hugely influential spawning dozens of evil children imitations and showing the world evil could lurk under even the most wholesome of exteriors..