If there’s one subgenre within the horror genre that always seems bound to terrify, it’s “creepy kid” films. It’s hard to know why but something about creepy children just gets under your skin. From the looks of it, the latest film in the “creepy kid” subgenre may terrify.
“The Prodigy” follows the story of a mother (Taylor Schilling) worried about her son’s erratic behavior. The behavior that Miles, her son, demonstrates may or may not be supernatural. Although the trailer appears to give away the mystery, because it’s only a preview, it may be hiding some kind of big twist. Who knows.
While she may be on “Orange Is The New Black,” it’s nice that Taylor Schilling is able to tackle film projects like this. The role she plays seems like one that’ll give her plenty of emotional beats to play with. Since “Orange Is The New Black” is coming to an end, we’ll see if she aims for more legitimate film roles in the future.
The rest of the cast includes child actor Jackson Robert Scott who plays Miles, Colm Feore, and Peter Mooney. Also, at the film’s helm is Nicholas McCarthy whose previous work includes “The Pact” and “At The Devil’s Door.”
“The Pact” and “At The Devil’s Door” haven’t gotten much attention. However, “The Prodigy” will easily be McCarthy’s most mainstream film to date. “The Prodigy” is also being handled by Orion Pictures, the same distributor behind classic horror pictures like “The Silence Of The Lambs” and “Wolfen.”
In spite of “The Prodigy” being a modern film, it does look like it has a classic touch. It has a traditional “creepy kid” storyline which makes it a throwback to films like “Village Of The Damned” and “The Omen.” Whether “The Prodigy” will join their ranks remains to be seen. However, it seems like it’ll be an effective horror film regardless.
“The Prodigy” will be released in theaters on February 8th, 2019. Here’s the new trailer: