Shiverin' 6: Creepy Kids, Part Two

Village of the Damned (1960)

Beware the stare that will paralyze the will of the world.

The residents of Midwich, England fall victim to an inexplicable occurrence that leaves them unconscious for several hours. When they wake it is discovered that every woman capable of childbirth is pregnant. It's obvious that something is not right from the get go as the women suffer through accelerated pregnancies. Once born, it is noticeable that the children are different on a physical level as well (they all have the same shocking blond hair, and oddly glowing eyes). As they grow it is realized that they are highly intelligent and possess the power to communicate through some form of telepathy. The nightmare begins when the children turn these telepathic powers on the adults of Midwich, exerting the power to read minds and control others actions. The horrifying significance of these powers grows exponentially as the full ramifications (world domination) of these gifts come to light.

The Devil Times Five (1974)

Not since "Village of the Damned" has death become so savage... or survival so hopeless!

After surviving an auto accident in the mountains of California, a group of five children set out seeking shelter against the harsh winter weather. They are taken in by a wealthy businessman who is entertaining family and business associates at his seasonal retreat. The children seem innocent enough at first and seem somewhat cute due to their odd appearances (for example, one boy is dressed as a soldier, another as a movie star, and a girl is dressed as a nun). Before long the kids' psychotic nature is revealed as they systematically begin to murder the house guests in bizarre, yet gruesome ways. It's probably the only film you will ever see that features a kid killing an adult by dumping piranha in their bathtub. Teen heartthrob Leif Garrett makes an early appearance here (along with his real life mother and sister) as one of the pint sized savages.

Who Can Kill A Child (1976)

Today -- the terror is unbelievable. Tomorrow -- it could be true!

It's a common fact that those who suffer the most during times of war and famine are children. What if these innocent victims stood up and struck back at the adults who are inevitably responsible for these tragedies? Spanish filmmaker Narciso Serrador answers this question straight out, while also taking a thinly veiled stand against abortion, in his masterful piece of kinder-trauma Who Can Kill A Child. The film sees a wife and husband arrive on the island of Almazora that for some strange reason is devoid of adult inhabitants. After witnessing the murder of an elderly man at the hands of a young girl, the couple find themselves on the run from a pack of crazed children bent on vengeance. To further complicate matters the woman is pregnant with a child that seems to have murderous intentions of its own.

Bloody Birthday (1981)

The nightmare begins with the kids next door.

As if it weren't odd enough that there were three children born in 1971 on the same date, at the same time, and in the same hospital, there also happened to be a bizarre astrological event taking place (an eclipse which blocked Saturn) that left the kids without feelings or a conscience. Flash-forward ten years and the kids have grown to be sinister, manipulative brats who embark on a killing spree that coincides with their birthdays. Parents, teachers, siblings, police officers, and horny teenagers are all victimized in ways that either look accidental, or can easily be blamed on someone other than the children. The only hope of stopping these miniature terrors lies with two neighborhood kids who are having a tough time finding anyone to believe that these cute, seemingly innocent, moppets are actually homicidal maniacs.

Children of the Corn (1984)

In their world, adults are not allowed... to live.

The children of Gatlin, Nebraska are stricken with a form of religious fervor which leads to the killing of the town's adult population. At the core of this mania is a sinister child preacher named Isaac (John Franklin) and his malevolent henchman Malachai (Courtney Gains) who do their bidding for a demonic entity known as "He who walks behind the rows". Fear keeps the younger children in line and any adult outsiders who have the misfortune of wandering into this Midwestern nightmare are either killed outright, or taken to the fields to be used as sacrifice. Based on a short story by Stephen King, this one will forever change the way you look at cornfields.

The Children (2008)

You brought them into this world. Now... they will take you out.

Director Tom Shankland helps keep the killer kid flick alive in the new millennium with this tale of two families who come together for the holidays only to have their children turn against them due to an unknown virus. As the unspecified infection spreads amongst the kids, they progressively become more and more violent, throwing tantrums and lashing out at the parents in violent fashion. Things turn nasty when one of the adults are killed in a bloody sledding "accident" that involves a deadly gardening tool and a child's wagon. From that point on the parents must wage a battle for survival against their own kids which takes the question posed by Who Can Kill a Child to even greater extremes.