PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Children have impressionable minds, even more so than those who become seized by religious zeal. In the Norwegian short film, Satan’s Barn (Children of Satan), directed by Thea Hvistendahl (Virgins4lyfe 2018), two girls become swept up with religious fever and make a terrible mistake.
Synopsis:
Louise (11) and Maria (11) make friends at a Christian summer camp. When a new girl, Erna, arrives, Louise and Maria are asked to take extra care of her, but they soon realize she is a bit different. They conclude she must be obsessed by Satan. Children of Satan is a story about two young girls’ need to belong, their lively imagination, and how the combination of the two has a fatal outcome.
As this film opens, Maria (Stella Valpuri Nilsen) and Louise (Iben Amalie Valas) are girls at a strict Christian Camp. They are introduced to Erna (Tia Scjolberg-Olavsen), a very tall, shy, and silent girl, and told to help get her settled. It’s clear from the onset that Erna is different, and both Maria and Louise are uncomfortable around her. As the film goes on, Maria and Louise grow closer, and they begin to develop an unhealthy religious zeal, believing that Erna, who suffers from seizures, is possessed by the devil.
Satan’s Barn (Children of Satan) is a fascinating film, one that explores both the inner workings of an extreme Christian Camp and the unintended consequences. The child actors were absolutely astonishing in their roles, particularly Iben Amalie Valas as Louise. Louise and Maria have been taught at their camp that good and evil, god and the devil, are the only things that exist. There are no shades of grey. They view the new girl, Erna, with suspicion, her strange ways marking her as evil in the eyes of their insular world. With this stark view, it’s not surprising that the film ends the way it does.
Satan’s Barn (Children of Satan) is a great film for anyone who enjoys a thoughtful tale with a dark twist.
