We are living through a horror renaissance. Recent films like It and Hereditary have proven generation defining, while Netflix have seamlessly bridged the horror/drama genres with shows like The Haunting of Hill House.
Horror directors are finding new and inventive ways to creep into the nightmares of their audience, knowing the cut and paste clichés of films gone by will no longer be enough for audiences.
The Prodigy is now waiting in the shadows for a February 2019 release, hoping to bring a fresh take to the well-trodden creepy child genre.
The Prodigy follows the story of mum Sarah (Taylor Schilling) who becomes increasingly worried about the behaviour of her young son, Miles (Jackson Robert Scott). Spoiler alert, a time out on the naughty step won’t sort this kid out…
Director Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact) has now revealed how they actually had to re-edit one scene due to the terror exhibited by an audience at a preview.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker revealed:
I’ll say this, the first time we previewed the movie, there’s a section where people screamed so loud we had to go back and re-edit the scene that followed it, because people were still recovering from what they had just seen, and they were missing the dialogue.
Yikes!
He added:
Four years ago, I was sent a script for this movie. For the first half, I was thinking, ‘Wow, this is a really interesting, and creepy, and twisted variation on the evil kid subgenre.’
But then the script just went to this place that I couldn’t believe. That’s what made me go from, ‘Here’s a movie I think might be cool’ to, ‘Here’s a movie that’s gotta be made.’
The script itself was penned by writer and actor, Jeff Buhler, whose work will shape the shocks and scares of 2019.
Buhler has also written the screenplay for Pet Sematary, in another eagerly anticipated reimagining of the novels of Stephen King, as well as Grudge, a reimagining of classic Japanese horror, Ju-on: The Grudge.
Speaking with Dread Central about the frightening nature of his writing back in May 2018, Buhler said:
I will be shocked if I am involved with a PG-13 movie ever,
It’s not by choice, but even if you cut out gore, there are often conceptual ideas or psychological ideas that are not appropriate for children in certain storytelling, and that tends for me to be the place in which I live.
Meanwhile, people have been jumping out of their skin at a certain bit in the trailer where little Miles runs to his mother, only to transform into a fully grown man.
One person tweeted:
Dude, this trailer..right before Halloween started..I screamed, “OH MY GOD!!” so loud everyone in the theatre laughed. [sic]
Another said:
Saw this trailer ahead of the new Halloween. Never saw an entire theater jump they way they did at the final shot. It was a perfect reaction! [sic]
I don’t think I’ll be watching this one on my own…
The Prodigy will hit US cinemas from February 8, 2019. The date for the UK release has not yet been revealed.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.