By Nia Edwards-Behi
There’s quite a wave of a horror filmmaking that seems to be happening in South America at the moment. Festival initiatives such as Blood Window are bringing more and more of these films to the fore. Children of the Night (formerly ‘Limbo’) is an example of this wave, coming from Argentinian director Iván Noel, who, following a cursory glance at IMDb, has some experience in directing features and particularly ones with prominent roles for children.
A journalist receives a letter asking her to visit and investigate a recent spate of deaths at a home for orphan children called Limbo. Once there, she realises all is not as it seems and finds herself fighting to protect these strange children, and their formidable matron, from a violent group determined to destroy them. If it’s not quite obvious enough from the title, this is a vampire film. It’s a film which likes to incessantly remind the viewer from the outset that this is a vampire film, via ham-fisted hints in the dialogue, such as mentions of Peter Pan and the fact that our heroine was put up for adoption as a child because she’s a haemophiliac. The result of this is that its lengthy opening sequences are relatively free of tension, as it’s half an hour into the film that the narrative itself ‘reveals’ the vampiric nature of the children in Limbo. That’s a long time to spend on something that’s obvious from the outset.
This is a shame, because there’s a nice idea at the core of this film. Unfortunately, that idea is over-shadowed by inconsistent pacing and tone, which ultimately makes the film a bit of a drag to watch, for the most part. If anything, the film suffers a bit from having a few too many good ideas battling against each other. It certainly doesn’t help that the film boasts some ropey acting and editing. It gives the impression of a half-baked film, nothing quite fully falling into place.
That being said, there is a lot to admire in the film. I’ve already alluded to the fact that there are interesting ideas here, and as such the film is at least a bit original. Watching a half-baked good idea is at least a bit preferable to watching the same old shit again. This is at least an attempt to do something different with established vampire mythology. The Dracula links are heavy-handed, but the best child performance comes from the striking-looking Lauro Veron as the Count’s descendant. The best thing about the film, for me, is Ana Maria-Giunta (who sadly passed away earlier this year) as Erda, the adult who takes care of the children at Limbo. Her performance is the strongest in the film, and her presence seems to counter-balance some of the more heavy-handed moments. There are some striking sequences, too, such as when the group of the child-vampires pursue and destroy two vampire hunters in retaliation for two deaths. The film’s climax, when a day-time attack by vampire hunters is interrupted by an eclipse, is really worth sticking the film out for.
All in all then, Children of the Night is something of a breath of fresh air, but it could really have benefitted from a tighter script and much improved editing. We’re given bones but only some of the meat, which is a shame. I can only presume that the film was made on a very low budget (IMDb seems to think it was made for $3 million, but I find that extremely surprising) and it’s evident that Noel takes on a lot of the work himself. There’s certainly potential here, and I think I’d love to see more from Noel, but perhaps working with a larger team of collaborators (especially a story and script editor). Children of the Night is worth checking out if you’re curious about a new take on traditional vampire mythology, but be prepared for some rather rough edges.
Children of the Night is out now on DVD , Blu-ray and VOD in the US, via Artsploitation Films.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT | Official Trailer | Artsploitation Films from artsploitation on Vimeo.