Yeah sure, by all means; send the guy who has the four month old baby this movie to review. I don’t get it, in the past month I’ve been reviewing movie and reading books that all have to do with babies or children in the mix of all the terror. On top of that I find myself watching A Haunting on the Discovery channel and half those episode are supposedly true stories, and what do you know, ghost, demons whatever they are love to scare the shit out of kids too. So yeah; send me a film where a babies life’s in danger. OK, in all due respect I’m being biased about this film because I can relate. Thus if this review seems to provoke my expression of my new found fear of children in danger, I apologize in advance.
The Cradle is about a guy named Frank and his wife Julie who move into a small isolated town with their new born son. The neighbors seem to want nothing to do with them, and Frank begins to hear things and experience odd dreams about his son dying from his own neglect. Little does he know that the evil spirit of a child that was burned alive years before hand will soon begin to terrorize his household and the people around him, especially their newborn son. As the sprits rage gets worse, Frank struggles with his own sanity while trying to protect his family from the vengeful spirit.
The script for this film is not half bad. The film struggles at the beginning really badly to get going and does pick up very slowly. There were a few moments there where I almost shut the movie off, but I held though to the end and the shocking conclusion was a real scare for me, especially as a parent. The overall character development was decent, but the beginning of the script does not really help in that aspect of the story right away. The overall plot of the script is more of a supernatural thriller than it is a horror film and the writer of this script Paul Nelson really added a lot of suspense in the atmosphere of the settings in the script.
Director Tim Brown did a decent job for this being his first film. While doing my research I found out that he is well aware of the flaws in this film and that his final edit is not the one that made it on the disc. Such is life in the film business especially as a first time director. He also agrees that the beginning of the film is way to long. So in his defense, I’m putting the blame of the studio for the flaws in this film. Should of released the directors cut.
The acting in the film is pretty good, there really is not much of a cast at all and the majority of screen time belongs to actor Lukas Hass, who does a great job in the role of Frank. Co-stars Emily Hampshire and Amanda Smith were also very good in their respected parts as well.
The overall production value of the film is pretty good, most of the film takes place in a the home of the character Frank, but there is also some scenes that take place on the neighbors farm which looks run down and creepy. The location scouts did a good job in finding places that the production team was able to make look creepy. The lighting in the film also helps establish the suspense that the movie throws off. There are not really much make-up effects or gore for that matter, we do get some blood and some freaky looking ghosts but not much. The movie relies more on the overall suspense than it does blood and guts. The film does present some nice visuals within the shots which also add to the overall look and feel of the film.
Overall, The Cradle had a lot of scenes that, as a parent really scared the crap out of me. But to be fair, unless your a new parent I don’t think you’ll be bothered much by what goes on in the film. The movie has it’s moments, but does start off at a snails pace. But overall it’s an alright flick from a first time director who shows a lot of promise. If your a fan of ghost films this one will be right up your ally.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
