Come Out and Play

Kids are frightening. That at least partially explains why they so often are an evil force in horror movies. Far more terrifying than a child is a huge group of children. A few adults are powerless against a few dozen kids. Come Out and Play, a remake of the 1976 Spanish shocker El Juego De Niños (Who Can Kill a Child?), effectively mines the disturbing notion of children committing horrific acts of violence. 

Beth (Vinessa Shaw) and Francis (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are on a peaceful vacation in Mexico when Francis decides he wants them to visit a secluded island. He finds a man willing to rent them a boat and the next morning the couple arrives to find a serene but empty island. There is no one around, and as they explore you’re reminded how eerie even a beautiful place can be in certain circumstances. 

Before seeing Come Out and Play, the remake of Who Can Kill a Child?, at Fantastic Fest last fall, an audience was treated to a video introduction from the director, known only as "Makinov."  Apparently, this dude directs while wearing a hood.

That introduction - known as "Makinov Manifesto" - hit the web and you can watch it inside.  

SEE! The destruction of a Blackberry!  WATCH! As Makinov details his disgust of "seeing stupid, modern life."  LAUGH! At the silliness of it all.  You would think after watching this that Come Out and Play would be a dangerous lil' film...but it's not.

The redo is opening March 22nd.  Look for it on VOD tomorrow (February 12th).

ShockTillYouDrop.com has learned that Come Out and Play, the remake of Who Can Kill a Child?, is arriving on VOD next Tuesday, February 12th (a March theatrical release is being planned).  Furthermore, we've discovered the official release trailer, which you can find inside.

You can read my review from last year's Fantastic Fest screening here.

Cinedigm is releasing the film which concerns Beth (Vinessa Shaw) and Francis (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), a young married couple, who are on holiday together when they venture to a beautiful, but highly remote, island. Beth is pregnant and the two are hoping to enjoy their last vacation before their baby is born. When they arrive, they notice that while there are plenty of children present, the adults all seem to be missing. Initially attributing this to the after effects of a recent festival, they quickly realize something far more sinister is afoot. The two will face terror and unsettling difficult decisions in their quest to make it off the island alive.

It's post-Fantastic Fest wrap-up time...  

ShockTillYouDrop.com's Ryan Turek and FEARnet.com's Lawrence Raffel are back from the 8th annual Austin, Texas event and they're here to tell you about the best and worst films.  Listen in as they weigh in on Antiviral, American Mary, Frankenweenie, Berberian Sound Studio, Come Out and Play, The American Scream and more!

A remake of Who Can Kill a Child?, Come Out and Play is not nearly as dangerous and boundary-pushing as it needs to be.  In fact, it's a pretty by-the-numbers re-telling of Narciso Ibanez Serrador 1976's killer kid flick that will likely bore the viewer than instill any sort of dread.  

It lacks any sort of flavor to set itself apart from far superior films of this ilk like - to name drop something recent - the UK offering The Children which kept you on the edge of your seat from the first act.  Here, the director known only as Makinov (who reportedly had his face disguised all through production) meanders through a story that misses opportunities, plays it rather safe and fails to make the film's main threat scary.

This is a big week for distribution news.  Understandable considering the movie biz is in the midst of the Toronto International Film Festival.  This morning, we have the word on two genre pics that have found U.S. distributors.

Deadline reports Cinedigm Entertainment Group has acquired Come Out and Play, the remake of Who Can Kill a Child? which premiered at TIFF.  A theatrical release is planned in 2013.

Writer-director Makinov took on the film which stars Vinessa Shaw, Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.  The film concerns a vacationing couple who must uncover the mystery of a remote island populated only by children.

The Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness is welcoming Come Out and Play to its programming fold next month.

This is the remake of Who Can Kill a Child? that was shooting under the familiar moniker Child's Play (c'mon, did you really think they would use that title?).  Come Out and Play comes to us from a writer-director who goes only by Makinov and we have six film stills to share with you.

Vinessa Shaw, Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Ebon Moss-Bachrach star.  According to the MM program, the film turns "a serene, sun-bleached Mexican paradise blood red, as a vacationing couple must uncover the mystery of a remote island populated only by children."

News fresh from the Twitter-sphere.  As you know, the Toronto International Film Festival is quickly approaching and we've been eagerly anticipating the Midnight Madness line-up, which never disappoints.  

This morning, the official Twitter account for Midnight Madness unveiled the titles participating in the program this year and, man oh man, it's a doozy.

It appears Dredd 3D is making the festival rounds before it opens September 21st.  Not only is the film playing to Fantastic Fest audiences in September, but it's now a Midnight Madness selection as well.

Confirming what we've been telling you for the last month, Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem will make its premiere.  So will Hellbenders 3D, the latest film from The Burrowers' JT Petty which stars Clancy Brown.