Halloween Thursdays: Creepy, Evil Kids

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TMP

What can be creepier than evil, sadistic children? Sometimes scary things come in small packages, especially spooky because horrific deeds are creeping up from where we least expect. I find these movies so unnerving that I never watch them. But I have seen these three. Thanks again to Wandering Through the Shelves for hosting this chilling month of Thursday Movie Picks.

Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)– At least here we don’t have to look evil in the face. The Spawn of Satan rests comfortably in the womb of the great Mia Farrow. Rosemary can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong with her baby and is starting to think that she’s been getting some bad prenatal advice from sweet creepy old lady Ruth Gordon. It takes a sick mind to play on the anxieties of an expectant mother and Roman Polanski is just the guy for the job.

The Exorcist

The Exorcist (1973)– It’s hard to blame a kid for the cruel things they say and the dastardly things they do when you know it’s just the demonic posession talking but Linda Blair and and the make-up crew make Regan a memorable villain. I don’t believe in possession or exorcism so I sleep just fine after watching it but Ellen Burstyn does such a great job as a mom who just wants to know what’s wrong with her daughter that the film holds up even today.

white ribbon

The White Ribbon (2009)– No need for demonic possession when you’re a future Nazi. In a small German village, suspicious “accidents” escalate into brutal assaults and the local children seem to be at the center of it. Like most Michael Haneke films, The White Ribbon is disturbing without technically being a horror movie. I’m not the only Asshole who’s struggled with this one.

51 thoughts on “Halloween Thursdays: Creepy, Evil Kids”

    1. Matt Post author

      Well, thanks. It’s hard because I don’t watch most of these movies. I haven’t seen any of your picks and am not sure I’d be able to get through them.

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    1. Matt Post author

      I have to warn you about The White Ribbon. unless you speak german, the black and white cinematography doesn’t mix well with the subtitles, with some words almost impossible to read even with the film on Pause.

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      2. Matt Post author

        Hey, it’s what we do.
        The movie really is worth watching though but the subtitles are a challenge. It may actually be easier to just learn to read German.

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    1. Matt Post author

      For me, it was the voice that I found most effective in The Exorcist.
      I don’t even remember what Vacancy is. I’ll have to check it out.

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    1. Matt Post author

      Linda Blair was awesome in one of those roles that make it impossible for people to see her in anything else. It’s crazy how she could spin her head around like that.
      I hope you do watch The White Ribbon and let us know what you think.

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  7. Christopher

    No The Omen? I understand the kid that played Damien in the first movie was a bona fide hellion. They brought him in for a screen test and he immediately started kicking the shit out of the casting agent. The director was yelling “Cut! Cut!” The kid had no idea what that meant and had to be pulled off. I know it’s wrong to find that story hilarious but I can’t help it.
    The most disturbing film child I’ve ever seen though is from the Dario Argento film Creepers. The kid appears near the very end, making it even more shocking.

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  8. DotedOn

    I saw The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby long ago and I’m glad I don’t remember them. But there is one movie, “The Goos Son” (1993) with Macaulay Culkin that still makes me cringe, maybe because I think that something like that could really happen. 🙂

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  9. joelnox

    I haven’t seen The White Ribbon, thanks for that heads up about the subtitles!, but your other two are wonderful picks.

    Rosemary’s Baby is the type of movie I prefer when talking about this genre, much more suspense fueled than flat out horror of which I’m not much of a fan. Superior performances and all the more disturbing because for the most part it’s set in everyday situations.

    I hated The Exorcist for years for a specific reason, my first job was as an usher in a second run/revival house theatre and they show The Exorcist for WEEKS on end so by the time it left I was heartily sick of it. However when they did the anniversary re-release a few years back I went to see it with a few people who had never seen it before and with those fresh eyes I re-discovered just how great it was. Again a large part of that was the performances, a real weakness in most horror films.

    Mine this week lean more towards suspense than flat out horror.

    The Other (1972)-Eerie chiller about identical twins Niles and Holland Perry and a string of “accidents” that befall their family tied to a game they play. Can the game be stopped? Filled with moody dread and excellent acting from the entire cast.

    The Children’s Hour (1961)-Two young women friends, Karen and Martha (Audrey Hepburn & Shirley MacLaine), run an elite girl’s school with the assistance of Martha’s aunt. One of the girls is a vicious, cruel bully who when she is disciplined for tormenting the other children spreads a lie that ultimately devastates the lives of all involved. Based on a Lillian Hellman play that was considered scandalous in its day. Miriam Hopkins who plays the selfish aunt in this starred in the original watered down, but still good, film version in the 30’s called These Three in the role Shirley MacLaine plays here.

    The Innocents (1961)-Deborah Kerr stars as a governess in Victorian England who becomes convinced that the unnerving children in her charge are possessed by evil spirits and sets out to help them. Superb rendition of Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw with a brilliant, award worthy performance by Kerr.

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  13. ruth

    Oh man, The Exorcist is still the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. I wish I could un-see it, THAT face still haunts me to this day. I thought of The Omen right away, now that’s a terrifying film, too. I’ve been curious about The White Ribbon, I should see that one soon!

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    1. Matt Post author

      I almost included The Omen but ecided that I like The Exorcist slightly better. Watching The White Ribbon is a lot like reading a great novel. Except you can’t flip the pages back to remind you of who each character is (there are a lot of them). I hope you like it. I did.

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  14. Birgit

    I would catch The Exorcist part way through and when her head spun around, I’d always change the channel-total freak out. I finally watched it 2 years ago and when she crawls down the stairs-I totally freaked out. For this reason i still have not seen Rosemary’s baby. The 3rd film sounds quite interesting and I have to check it out

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    1. Matt Post author

      He was scary alright. If you haven’t already, check out Christopher’s comment above. The kid punched Richard Donner in the nuts during his audition.

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  17. Jay

    The Exorcist was re-released in theatres in 2000 and I saw it at the Rideau Centre cinema, RIP. I nearly peed myself.

    I think my creepiest kid would be Tomas from The Orphanage. Or the twins from The Shining – I HATE every time we see them! “Come play with us Danny.”

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    1. Matt Post author

      That’s a good call with The Shining though. I haven’t seen the movie in awhile though and I couldn’t remember whether the girls were evil or just misunderstood. Definitely creepy though.

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  19. solosocial

    The funniest thing about “Rosemary’s Baby” is the presence of Hope Summers in the film. Because Hope Summers also played “Aunt Bee”s hoity-toity friend “Clara” in “The Andy Griffith Show”. So it’s hilarious to see “Clara” raising a glass, and saying “Hail, Satan!”–so out of character for her!

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    1. Matt Post author

      You know, I’ve never seen the Andy Griffith Show, believe it or not. I had no idea that my experience of watching Rosemary’s Baby would be worse for it. I love hilarious casting like that though. Like when i saw Mr. Roeper in The Graduate.

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