Come
Out and Play is a dull, dreary, and completely unnecessary remake of Who Can
Kill a Child? It’s sort of reminiscent
of the Cabin Fever remake in that there is no real drive to the movie. There’s also no real point to it either.
A
vacationing couple are annoyed that there’s a big festival in town, so they
rent a boat to visit a nearby island.
They soon discover the place is completely deserted, save for a bunch of
miscreant children. Eventually, the
killer children come after the couple and they’re forced to fight for their
lives.
Like
Who Can Kill a Child?, the first half of the movie is extremely slow
moving. The original’s use of real
newsreel footage of children suffering worldwide was grotesque and disturbing,
but at the very least, it was memorable.
That footage is nowhere to be seen in this version. Without that nasty kick, Come Out and Play is
about as generic and hollow a remake as they come.
I
did enjoy the fact that Vinessa Shaw played the very pregnant wife. Her performance in Ladybugs left a lasting
impression on me when I was a teenager, so I never miss an opportunity to see her
in a film. Unfortunately, she isn’t
given much to do. Ebon Moss-Bachrach is
thoroughly unmemorable as the husband too.
Without compelling leads, it’s hard to care what happens to them. You know you’re in trouble when you start
rooting for the bloodthirsty brats.
Writer/director
“Makinov” goes for the same slow-burn type of suspense of the original, and
likewise comes up short. The pacing is
sluggish, and the suspense sequences quickly fizzle out. These scenes rarely escalate. Instead, it just kind of flatlines. There aren’t any real scares either. Things just sort of happen. The final reel where our hero starts socking
kids left and right has a little oomph to it, but it’s not nearly enough to
justify the slower-than-slow slow burn beginning.
AKA: The Child.
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