If you’ve ever seen Pet Semetary, Children of the Corn, or The Omen then you know children are creepy. Children are terrifying. Children should not come into your room at night and wake you up with whispers or just staring at you. So, when I saw the trailer for There’s Something Wrong with the Children I was excited. After watching it, I can’t say the same.

WHAT IS There’s Something Wrong with the Children ABOUT?

Margaret and Ben take a weekend trip with two longtime friends and their two young children. Ben soon suspects something sinister is afoot when the kids start behaving strangely after disappearing into the woods overnight.

The film stars Alisha Wainwright (Raising Dion) and Zach Gilford (Midnight Mass) as Margaret and Ben go on a friend vacation in the woods. However, it’s not just their friends Ellie (Amanda Crew) and Thomas (Carlos Santos), but also their 2 children Lucy (Briella Guiza) and Spencer (David Mattle). While on a hiking adventure, they find a cave and decide to go explore. When they find a hidden room with a very deep drop-off, the kids stare into it talking about how bright it is. When they get back to their cabins, the children are not the same.

WHY IS THE FILM A LETDOWN?

“The Pit” Director: Roxanne Benjamin EP: Josh Reinhold Writer: T.J. Cimfel Writer: David White Cast: #1 Alisha Wainwright as Margaret #3 Amanda Crew as Ellie #4 Carlos Santos as Thomas #5K Briella Guiza as Lucy #6K David Mattle as Spencer #7 Zach Gilford as Ben Winslow Director of Photography: Yaron Levy A Cam Op: Zac Sieffert B Cam Op: Jordan Marable

The score is hilarious and fun. It’s overly aggressive and mixed incredibly loud. It’s very reminiscent of It Follows. So, it brings the tone into a fun, campy light. I enjoyed the way the kids would torture and tease Ben into making him feel like he was going insane or even having a manic episode. 

However, I didn’t find the children or scenarios to make me feel uncomfortable in the way that I expect. No scene as scary, or twisted. It was all very PG rated. I thought I would finally get a reveal of the entity that was possessing everyone. Instead, we were given a split-second glimpse at a shadow puppet or an insect-like creature.

I also don’t love the use of Ben being Bi-Polar being used as an excuse as to why his friends wouldn’t believe him when he says something wrong. Not only that, how they use it against him and believe he’d hurt a child.

I also felt for a film about creepy, possessed children the story focuses way too much on the adults. It isn’t until the third act that the children are really even part of the story. So, we never saw enough of their original personalities for the flip to be jarring.

Overall, There’s Something Wrong with the Children doesn’t live up to the hype of creepy children’s films of the past. This one’s a skip for me.