The psychological horror film "Child of Darkness", released in 2009, became widely known among fans of thrillers and horror. The picture is only at first glance similar to other horror films about evil children. With every frame, every new scene and phrase, this picture gradually confuses the viewer, smoothly leading him to an absolutely unexpected and shocking denouement.
In the film "Child of Darkness" (2009), the actors Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard and Isabelle Furman performed the main roles.
Plot
Kate and John Coleman, who are hard pressed for the death of a child, adopt Esther, a sweet, well-bred girl who loves to draw. Esther quickly finds a common language with all members of the family. She is especially good at getting along with Max, the daughter of Coleman. Only their son Daniel is hostile to Esther.
Soon, however, strange things began to happen around this seemingly sweet girl: a classmate, with whom Esther didnāt get along, falls off the hill and breaks her leg, then Abigailās sister, who was working at the orphanage, was about to tell her new parents something important about their adoptive daughter . Kate notices oddities in Esther's behavior, but no one, not even John, believes her suspicions. She is working hard to find out who they brought to their home. Esther is actually far from a harmless child whose parents died in a fire. From the very beginning, she pursues her goal, for the sake of which she will stop at nothing.
Contradictions
The painting "Child of Darkness", where the adopted villain is portrayed as the main villain, as expected, provoked protests from social workers, employees of orphanages and adoptive parents. Due to the large number of complaints from them, the director had to remove a scene from the trailer where Esther says: āIt's hard to love an adopted child as well as her ownā and replace this phrase with a more neutral one: āIt seems that mommy doesnāt really like meā. The film itself ultimately included both phrases.
Production
The scenario of David Lasley Jones āChild of Darknessā, the plot of which tells about the difficult fate of a family adopting a very strange girl, back in 2007, became interested in American director Jaume Colet-Serra. Prior to that, the director worked on the sports drama "Goal 2" and the horror "House of Wax". Dark Castle Entertainment has allocated a modest budget of $ 20 million to the new Colette Serra movie.
Active work on the painting began in the fall of 2007. In November, Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga were cast in the lead roles in the film Child of Darkness. Vera Farmiga already had experience working on a similar film - in 2007 she performed the main female role in the thriller āJoshuaā, which also tells the story of a killer child.
Filming began in February 2008 and took place in the Canadian cities of St. Thomas, Montreal, Toronto and Port Hope.
Cast
In the film "Child of Darkness" (2009), the actors Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaargd played spouses who are seriously worried about the loss of a child. Vera Farmiga gained fame thanks to Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning film The Departed, as well as the historical drama The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Peter Sarsgaard is known to the viewer, first of all, on the television series Law and Order and the thriller Illusion of Flight.
For the young actress Isabelle Furman, "Child of Darkness" was a real breakthrough. Prior to that, in her career there were no major roles. According to the original version of the script, Esther is a platinum blonde with fair skin and thin features. Isabelle Furman did not fit this description at all, however, her film screenings were so impressive for the director that he without hesitation approved Isabelle for the role.
The remaining actors of the film "Child of Darkness" (2009) were selected in January 2008. The role of Colemanās son Daniel went to Jimmy Bennett, the star of the movie āThe Amityville Horror,ā and the role of his younger sister Max was given to Ariana Engineer, for whom the film became a film debut.
For the role of Abigailās sister, the director Jaume Colet-Serra invited the CC HF Pounder, known for the sliver thriller. The role of Sister Judith, another employee of the shelter, was performed by the young Canadian actress Janelle Williams.
For a small role, Barbara Coleman, the mother of John, the director approved the Canadian television actress Rosemary Dansmore.
Reviews
On the film "Child of Darkness", the reviews from critics were mixed. Roger Ebert liked the picture, he gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, writing: "If you are looking for a good horror film about a child from hell, then this is he." Another authoritative film critic, Mick LaSail, spoke of the film as follows: āIn the filmā Child of Darkness āthere is everything that the viewer wants to see in the thriller about a psychopathic child, and in such abundance that this film can surprise.ā
Manola Dargis from the New York Times was less enthusiastic about the film, and Tod McCarthy from Variety magazine called the painting "eye-catching bullshit." Well, they donāt argue about tastes, especially when it comes to such a controversial genre as horror. However, both critics and viewers of the āChild of Darknessā liked much more than the previous work of Jaume Colette Serra - āHouse of Waxā.
The actors of the film "Child of Darkness" (2009), despite all the conflicting impressions of critics about the storyline, were noted very positively, especially the 12-year-old Isabelle Furman.
Box office
With a budget of $ 20 million, the picture raised 78 million at the box office, which can safely be called a box office success for the horror. For example, the film āCase No. 39ā, released in the same year, the plot of which is in many respects similar to āChild of Darknessā, collected only 28 million at the box office. Interestingly, Isabelle Furman auditioned for the role of Lilith Sullivan in the film āCase No. 39ā, however, Christian Alvert, for the sake of the commercial success of the project, preferred the more famous actress - Jodelle Ferland.