Ten Best Evil Kid Movies

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ORIGINAL HEADING:

Here’s another blog I made.  Another one?  Really?  Oh well, I like lists so this blog contains lists only.  Unlike my Best/Worst of the Year lists posted on my other blog (one of many), Best and Worst Films Archive, this one will contain top ten lists for specific genres.  Whenever people ask me what my favorite movie is, I never have a definitive answer so these entries will give you a general idea of what some of my favorite films are.  Agree or disagree, I don’t give a ‘eff’ (that’s your right)…

*Read any previous lists in the archive section at the bottom or by clicking on arrow at top left*

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Evil children.  “An adult nightmare,” as promo art for the original Children of the Corn states.  I’ve always been fascinated with the subgenre, especially when I actually was a kid, or not legally an adult yet.  Children of the Corn would likely come to mind first if the subgenre is mentioned (they did make 10 of them after all, one being a remake, and another film is on the way).  I’ve been a fan of the original since I started junior high and then came the Village of the Damned remake (I saw that one first, so I included that on the list; plus, it’s slightly more disturbing than the original and John Carpenter directed it).  The first evil kid flick I saw though on this list, or generally if I recall, is The Good Son (so part of its inclusion is nostalgia); I remember being shocked that two of the most popular child actors at the time, Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood, were in an R-rated film.  Like several subgenres, there likely aren’t too many evil kid films, or I just haven’t heard of some (do inform me of any I may not mention here; chances are I may not have included them on purpose though).  I hope you know I’m only talking about horror films (or thrillers) too, because there are likely thousands of evil kid shows/movies that aren’t horror, i.e. Problem Child and Dennis the Menace.   I wasn’t going to include movies that feature an evil kid at one time either, such as Pet Sematary (more a zombie flick), The Ring (more an investigative thriller), and Let the Right One In (more a coming-of-age/vampire film, and it’s debatable as to who the evil kid(s) would be---the bullies or the vampire?).  Some films I may like, even slightly, but not enough to count them as favorites.  For instance, the original Village of the Damned and its sequel, Children of the Damned, weren’t bad, but I don’t connect with them the same way as the remake (it may not necessarily be a better film, it’s just the first one I saw, hence there’s nostalgia attached).  I like the original Omen, but not enough to claim I love it; none of the sequels or remake stand out either, but I do plan on reviewing the series next for one of my other blogs (Random Rewind).  The original Bad Seed is okay-ish, but obviously dated.  There’s a movie from 1994 called The Paperboy that probably wouldn’t be too good if it came out now, but there’s a bit of nostalgia attached to it which enabled me to own the DVD and watch it more than once (wow, nostalgia really seems to play a part in whether I like a movie or not, no?).  Beware! Children at Play is obviously a “poor man’s” Children of the Corn (one kid even states “the outlander must die” at one time---how’s that for subtlety?!), but it’s still a somewhat fun low-budget entry in the subgenre.  There’s a Romanian film called Them (Ils in its original language; there are French subtitles, FYI) that will draw comparisons to The Strangers, although it came out 2 years prior and I think it’s better, but (SPOILER) you don’t know it’s an evil kid movie until closer to the end (don’t let that stop you from watching it either; it’s a well-made film).  The Prodigy wasn’t bad although it arguably may not technically be an evil kid film, just set up like one, much like (SPOILER) Orphan is set up like an evil kid film until a twist reveals it’s not (I included it on my list though since it feels like an evil kid flick the majority of the time; plus, the film is an example of one of those times the twist made the movie better, or more f***ed up in this instance).  In regards to the Corn films, I like the original not only for its nostalgia, and the sequel, The Final Sacrifice, stands out for being the best of those (again, there’s also nostalgia attached to that too); the other sequels weren’t that bad either, except for maybe Genesis, and the remake wasn’t too bad as well, but none feel like they rightfully deserve a spot on my ‘best’ list.  The others I included?  Don’t confuse The Boy from 2015 directed by Craig Macneill with that doll flick from 2016 that (SPOILER) wasn’t really a doll flick; the one I included is an indie film involving a young boy at a roadside motel whom we witness becoming more and more evil (what an ending too!).  The Children is also a Christmas film with hints of another genre, and don’t confuse that 2008 film with another film of the same name from 1980---I wasn’t too fond of that one.  Eden Lake and The Final feature teenagers but I think that still counts since they’re technically not adults yet; the former features some truly disturbed kids and I enjoy the latter (in some subconsciously cathartic way) for being one of those revenge flicks in which other teens suffer, similar to the way I feel when watching the original Carrie (yes, that involves an evil teenager, but it’s not known for being one of these films).  Lastly, I did enjoy Sinister 2 more than its predecessor (although I did still like that one) and it feels much more like an evil kid flick (since the focus is more on them), whereas the first was more of a supernatural thriller.  Okay, so after much digging and recollection, these are my ten favorite evil kid films (alphabetized) that bubbled to the surface.  Agree or disagree…

Ten Favorite Evil Kid Movies

1.            The Boy (2015)

2.            The Children (2008)

3.            Children of the Corn (1984)

4.            Children of the Corn II:  The Final Sacrifice

5.            Eden Lake

6.            The Final

7.            The Good Son

8.            Orphan

9.            Sinister 2

10.          Village of the Damned (1995)

---Sean O.

6/15/2021