An eerie lullaby leads a savage parade of dark black-and-white images depicting kids ravaged by war, abuse and pestilence in the opening scenes of this icy Spanish thriller, the implication being that what is about to unfold in this movie is not entirely without karmic recourse.
Forget the corny international titles plaguing this film. “Isle of the Damned.” “Death is Child’s Play.” “The Killer’s Playground.” “Lucifer’s Curse.” Somehow, the production company American International thought the name “TRAPPED!” sounded good.
The original translation of the title is equally blunt. Simply, "The Kids." Yet the more casual it sounds, the more terrifying it becomes.
It begins with a bohemian British couple---Tom and Evelyn—on holiday. Deciding that they’ve had enough of the fireworks, youthful mayhem and tourist traps spoiling the coastal resort towns of southern Spain, they follow up on a tip from one of the locals to visit the island of Almanzora. It turns out to be one of the worst mistakes any traveler has ever made.
But don’t think that once the couple reaches said island that it’s all supernatural blood-and-thunder. The better part of the movie is filled with utterly silent walks along empty sun-drenched paths and between the quicklime masias of the sleepy island villages. It’s only when herds of smiling children begin to appear that things start to seem truly, deeply odd.
And what makes this film more than just another creepy child flick is just how well it plays with our anxieties and blends them almost seamlessly with the overriding question that grounds the movie both philosophically and structurally. Don’t expect cheap shots or weird bowl-cut children to deliver the scares here. In fact, the kids aren’t even ugly or menacing in any way. And that makes what happens all the more disturbing.
The Trailer (strangely, the only one I could find was in German :-P)
***
Directed by:
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador
Written by:
Juan José Plans....................."El juego de los niños" (novel)
Luis Peñafiel...........................screenplay
Producers:
Manuel Salvador ... executive producer
Cast:
Lewis Fiander..........................Tom
Prunella Ransome....................Evelyn
Antonio Iranzo........................Father
Miguel Narros.........................Coast Guardsman
Enrique Amorós......................Postman
Fabián Conde.........................Camera shop clerk
Javier de la Cámara................Leader of the children
Lourdes de la Cámara.............Lourdes
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