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Cast: Cait Bliss, Colin Critchley, Jason Martin, Dave Klasko, Brandon Smalls, James Wilcox, Melinda Chilton, Andrew Kaempfer, Kara Durrett, weston wilson, charlotte patton, hilary r. walker
In Child Eater, little Lucas (Colin Critchley) goes missing from his bedroom in the middle of the night, his babysitter Helen (Cait Bliss) ventures out into the deep, dark woods armed only with a flashlight. But these are no ordinary woods. They were once the home of Robert Bowery (Jason Martin), a serial killer who years ago came for children's eyes in order to keep himself from going blind. But Robert Bowery was stopped and killed... or was he?
"Child Eater" has one very chilling and disturbing opening scene and once that is done it jumps ahead 25 years. We are then introduced to Helen who will be one of our main characters in the film. Helen along with the rest of the town is still shaken by what happened 25 years ago when Robert Bowery who had an eye disease that was causing him to go blind. One day he snapped and started kidnapping little kids and taking out their eyes and eating them. He was convinced that it would save his own sight. At some point he was stopped and killed. Helen is babysitting little Lucas and when he goes missing she will have to brave the same woods Bowery called home in order to find Lucas but she soon finds out that the legend is alive and well.
"Child Eater" is from Writer/Director, Erlingur Thoroddsen who originally made a Short Film of the same name in 2012. The film's opening scene really sets tone for what is to follow, it does take a little time to get going while in introduces the main characters but once it does it becomes a very effective horror film. For an Indie film I was quite impressed with just about everything. Starting with the production values. The majority of the film was shot at night and in dark buildings but the camera work and lighting were fantastic. You could see everything even in the darkest scenes. I have seen some Indie films that failed in that aspect so I was quite impressed with the overall production here.
Another thing I enjoyed was the story and the back story of Bowery. Even though the plot is straight forward and simple there was a great deal of character development and the execution was top notch as well.
Another thing I was really impressed with was the acting. Knowing it was an Indie horror film I wasn't expecting the acting to be anything special but I was hoping it would be at least average but to my surprise the entire cast did an amazing job playing their roles. Cait Bliss was stellar as Helen and Colin Critchley is fantastic as little Lucas. I can see a bright future ahead for his young man. Jason Martin was also terrific as Bowery. He did a great job bringing a new bad ass villain to horror.
"Child Eater" did very well on its Festival run winning numerous awards and for good reason. The film is engaging and once things get going it becomes a frightening horror film with plenty of chills and thrills to please any horror fan. The woods and buildings used are like additional characters in the film, they really help in setting the mood with feelings of isolation and dread.
I also loved the film's climax, just when you think it is over something else happens and I have to say I really enjoyed the ending, I hope they revisit Bowery with a sequel. I really got sucked into the film and I couldn't look away. There is suspense, action, scares and just the right amount of gore. Once released this should quickly gain a following through strong word of mouth among horror fans. And before I forget stick around after the credits begin to roll for a scene at the very end.
"Child Eater" will Get a North American release on DVD and Digital Formats via MVD Entertainment Group on March 28th so be sure to check it out then. It is an engaging and frightening film.
Released by MVD Entertainment
**** Out Of *****