JP Nunez
When I first heard about IFC Midnight’s upcoming film The Innocents, I thought it was going to be yet another remake of the 1961 classic starring Deborah Kerr (or at least another adaptation of the book it was based on), but when I watched the trailer, it ended up being something else entirely and I can’t wait to see it.
This movie is about a bunch of young kids who discover that they have superpowers, and when they begin to use those powers in evil and nefarious ways, what started out as a lighthearted romp will turn into an absolute nightmare.
From that premise alone, I’m already hooked. I love superhero films, and while these aren’t exactly heroes, the fact that they have powers is good enough for me. What’s more, the idea of young kids having dangerous powers is fascinating. As we know from just about every Spider-Man movie ever made, with great power comes great responsibility, and if there’s one thing young children are terrible at, it’s responsibility. That right there is already a recipe for success, so even if we didn’t have a trailer yet, I’d already be sold on The Innocents.
But we do have a trailer and it’s fantastic. It starts out pretty lighthearted but it has a slight feeling of dread that lets us know without a doubt that this story is headed to some dark places. Then, at about the halfway point, it ups the ante in a really creepy way and delivers some awesome horror shots.
I know some people think creepy kids are overplayed, but if they’re done right, they can still be just as scary as ever. And luckily for us, the ones in this trailer are done about as well as any I’ve ever seen. They’re the perfect mix of naive innocence and genuine evil, and that juxtaposition is the stuff of nightmares.
Simply put, this movie looks like it has the potential to get under our skin in a way that few films can so I absolutely can’t wait to see it. It hits theaters and VOD on May 13, and if it’s even half as good as the trailer suggests, The Innocents might end up being one of the best horror movies of the year.
