Come Out and Play

We're all familiar with the pack of demon children terrorizing the town stories. If you've been watching horror from any of the last few decades, you've probably come across this story before in a film. In this version, we have an American couple that go to a Spanish speaking island to be terrorized by a bunch of kids. Here are the facts of the movie: It takes a good 35 minutes before something finally happens. The subtitles are in white and the film takes place in the daytime… good luck with that. Kids are creepy! Seriously, when they're in packs, dirty and they think they're tough, it can be pretty intimidating. Especially cause your natural response is that you think you can't knock a kid out, it makes the whole premise pretty terrifying. The last 20 minutes of this film is bananas! Because this film ends in such a way I wasn't expecting, it makes it worth checking out. I found myself laughing, not because it is funny, but because it totally caught me off guard and it ended in a very "non conventional" way. If you're in the mood to see some dirty demon children ruin your idea of Mexican paradise, then check this one out.

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We knew that already didn't we? Seriously though: The movie tries to not pull any punches but does fall back on some horror movie clichés where the viewer will not be able to stop shaking his head. Now I haven't seen the original movie, but the concept itself is not completely original anymore anyway.

You don't have a big cast (if you don't count the many kids that are in this) so therefor it is very important to stay/stick with the few you have on board (no pun intended). But unfortunately they never really strike you or have you root for them. It's unfortunate because the journey they take and the allegories they try to play out never really fulfill their goal

'Come Out to Play' is about a nice young couple who take a romantic holiday to an island. On docking their boat, they find only children, but think nothing of it and proceed into town. However, although all shops are open, not one has an employee working. But they think nothing of it and start helping themselves to food from a café. They go for a walk round the town, but can't find anyone. But they think nothing of it and go to their hotel. However, upon arriving at their hotel, they don't find anyone there. But they think nothing of it and just carry on.

This must have something to do with Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' theory as these people are clearly too dumb to deserve to live.

Obviously, things finally start to go wrong at just over half way through the film when they finally realise that something is amiss. Then horrific stuff starts to happen, but, by this time, do we really care enough for these people? If you think you might, then give it a go. I, on the other hand, really couldn't see how they wouldn't have twigged sooner that this was not a place to take your holiday.

I really wanted to like this remake of Spanish cult classic, Who Could Kill a Child (1975) AKA Island of the Damned. However the movie is so flat it becomes hard to sit thru since I knew the outcome from the very beginning. As for the acting? There was a reason the female lead of the original, Prunella Ransome, won the Best Actress award from the Sitges International Horror Film festival. Oh well, if you never saw the original, you might like this thriller. Keep in mind, it's not as fast paced as most recent horror thrillers. You might enjoy the build-up. Better yet, look for the original on The Dark Sky DVD label. Then you will see true fear.

Well, I neither read the book, nor saw the old film. But I find this theme is very interesting and at the end of the watch I kind of disappointed. Of course it is a low budget film, which involves little kids in a bad light, but that does not mean they should completely censor the violence. I'm disappointed with those serious avoidance which very essential for a film like this. I agree the children performing such act should not be shown, but the theme was promised something and delivered nothing. On that perspective anyone would be frustrated if they came here to see a good thriller.

So you can call it a horror-thriller for the families, that's how it looks. It is the story of an American couple with the seven months pregnant visits a tourist island destination in Mexico and soon finds the town is deserted. While looking for other souls, they are targeted by those who were the reason for the scenario of the island. Then begins the run and chasing game, and how it all ends revealed with a tiny twist.

As I feared the film failed to impress me, but there might be a few who would enjoy it better than me. So all I'm saying is just skip it if you're seeking 'Hatchet' kind of film, this is no way near to that. For a 30-35 years ago film, it might have worked better, but this is an outdated story to take place in the present world. The theme was fantastic, but I just wanted a different story and upgraded with the new stuffs. Though I must appreciate the director who has done multiple task for this film to happen. Finally, I want to clear that it is not a bad film of the year or decade or ever, but just too soft for its genre, that's all.

5/10