MovieChat Forums > Citadel (2013) Discussion > The terrorizing youths?

The terrorizing youths?

posted 11 years ago by AceRoccola
4 replies | jump to latest

The evil kids in this film are explained in a lot of different, contradictory ways, depending on which abstract/which sentence from the abstract you're reading. Sometimes they're "twisted feral children" and sometimes they're just a "gang". So, which is it?

Is this just another insufferable European "oh noooo, menacing 12 year olds!" flick, or are these children actually feral/mutated/possessed/etc. You don't need to spoil their origin exactly, I just want to know if the threat in this film can be taken seriously.

I'm sick to death of watching nonsense movies like Ils (Them) where the invincible, unstoppable villains are SCHOOLCHILDREN. It's completely impossible to take the plot of a film seriously when grown ass adults just run around for 90 minutes flailing their arms and then end up getting beaten to death by a kindergartner.

Maybe the "scary kids" thing is more effective in the UK, and Ireland, and elsewhere in western Europe. I have noticed that this theme is very popular there in the horror/thriller genres. Personally, I find it completely laughable. I'm amazed so many of these films are made, let alone watched and enjoyed. It's even worse than Child's Play. Chucky was sort of the ultimate joke villain, until a new generation of filmmakers decided that real children were the ultimate horror foe.

[–] Symarip 11 years ago

Adults have been stabbed/shot and killed plenty of times by kids or teens in real life. Don't see how you couldn't take that seriously. Being stabbed only hurts when it's an adult stabbing you? :P
But anyway, they're definitely not completely human in this movie, which is also why I think it scores so low on here (compared to the Metascore). It's actually really well made.

I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.

[–] neztra 11 years ago

They appeared to be feral in a supernatural way. The idea of killer children is terrifying because by their nature, they are meant to be innocents that we, as adults, are supposed to protect. It is the contrast that is most jarring. An "evil child" would be just as dangerous, if not more so than an evil adult because you wouldn't expect it and would hesitate to harm a child as it goes against your nature.

Bam said the lady.

[–] skorkk 11 years ago

I don't think anyone in Europe would be surprised to hear of an adult being robbed, beaten or killed by a group of kids/teens, especially if they're armed! I thought Ils was a fantastic movie.

If I was walking alone at night and I saw a group of young teens in hoodies walking towards me I'd definitely turn the other direction!

[–] cinemajunky 10 years ago

They start out as normal kids who are kidnapped and forced to grow up in an infectious area. Like the kids in Mama, they end up warped feral children with a hint of the supernatural in them since they can sense fear, but the nurse says Elsa (the daughter) can sense fear so maybe it's a kid thing.

As for whether or not a gang of kids attacking adults can be scary --
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/11/12/brooklyn-rabbi-gang-of-teens-pl aying-disturbing-game-of-knock-out-the-jew/- New York Jews are being attacked by African American teenagers (Nov 2013)
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/06/21/cops-gang-of-youths-targeting-h ispanics-in-stamford/ - Connecticut kids attacking Hispanics (June 2013)

Those are just kids punching people... There was a story about 1-2yrs ago of a woman in Baltimore who was dragged off a bus by a group of middle schoolers who beat her so badly that she had to have reconstructive surgery on her face. Most of the kids who were arrested were released to their parents for Christmas while she spent the holiday in a medically induced coma.

Kids can be mad scary when they attack in a group and no amount of big talk would keep you from getting really hurt if they came at you in a group with weapons. As far as myself, I know I wouldn't make it out without getting hurt, but I'm taking at least a few of them with me and I'm gouging eyes and biting until the last ounce of fight is beaten out of me.
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