BITS 2017 Presents: ‘The Child Remains’ (2017)

As a parent, I find that some horror movies are harder to watch than others. Although my brain knows that every character started out as another person’s baby, seeing them as teenagers/adults making stupid mistakes and winding up on the wrong end of a machete doesn’t bother me at all. However, if the life of an innocent child ends before it even got a chance to pick up the wrong hitchhiker, there’s a deeper, more heartrending emotional toll that makes the horror of the film all the more dreadful. That was the case with Michael Melski’s The Child Remains, which was based on the true story of the Butterbox babies. These tiny, innocent newborns fell victim to minister William Peach Young, owner of the Ideal Maternity Home, a home for unwed mothers that was open in Nova Scotia in 1928 to 1945.

Screening at the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival for its Toronto premiere, The Child Remains was written, directed and co-produced by Michael Melski (Suburban Zombie Christmas 2008). The Corridor’s (2011) Craig Cameron also produced the film, which stars Cannes Best Actress winner Suzanne Clemént (I Killed My Mother 2009), Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle TV series), Shelley Thompson (Labyrinth 1986, Trailer Park Boys TV series) and genre hero Géza Kovács (The Dead Zone 1983).

The official synopsis:

An expectant couple’s intimate weekend turns to terror as they discover their secluded country inn is a haunted maternity home where infants and mothers were murdered.

What Works

I love it when a horror movie is based on true events. Even if the link to the film is by the tiniest thread, the fascinating truth behind it all makes the story doubly as scary. Why? Because truth is stranger (and more horrifying) than fiction. Twisted human beings do things no average filmmaking mind can imagine on their own. The true crime that inspired The Child Remains is proof that psychopaths are way more inventive and inhumane than the average human brain can even fathom. The film takes these historical events and combines them with other exhaustive anxieties such as post-traumatic stress disorder and marital strife, along with blood churning supernatural twists and sends them flowing in a straight, cohesive storyline. I thought the twists were inventive and original, a refreshing change considering how many horror film revelations I’ve seen in my movie watching career. I was impressed with the acting, especially Suzanne Clemént (Rae) and Géza Kovács (Talbot). I can’t even imagine how frustrating it would be for Rae, an accomplished investigative reporter who was once paid for her truth telling ability, now pooh-poohed at every turn by even her most trusted confidante, her husband. I loved that she was not a victim, and continued her investigation despite the dangers that the search brought, both to her and her unborn child.

What Doesn’t Work

The end of The Child Remains was quite confusing for me. Without spoiling anything here, I wasn’t exactly sure what the villain planned to do with Rae. After such a strong start, I was pretty disappointed in the paper thin reasoning behind such an experienced psychopath. I also thought the easy brainwashing of Liam (Hawco) was so irrational, it was ridiculous, even laughable. Talk about dropping your suspension of disbelief like a lead balloon.

Final Thoughts

Although the film had some faults, I think The Child Remains is a strong, inventive addition to the indie film genre. This is a movie that needs no gore to be terrifying, and even without the supernatural elements, it would have been a strong contender for being one of my favorites that I’ve seen so far at the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival. If you get the chance, be sure to check out The Child Remains.

Wait, do you hear a baby crying?