PopHorror Let's Get Scared
We are into the second month of 2019 already! It’s about time we had a wide release of a horror film. Some may consider Glass to be the first, but in my opinion, that one really doesn’t fall under this genre. With that said, I believe The Prodigy to be the first horror film to be released in theaters in 2019. Is this film just another run of the mill killer kid flick? Or did it really have some brilliance behind it and surprise us all? Let’s break it down!
Official Synopsis of The Prodigy:
A mother concerned about her young son’s disturbing behavior thinks something supernatural may be affecting him.
What Works:
Upon seeing the trailer for The Prodigy, I had initially written it off and thought to myself, “Meh.” Maybe that’s the mentality I should have going into every movie from this point on, because it seems like the more I get hyped for a film, the more disappointed I become. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really dug this one! I found it to have a fresh perspective along with the classic trope of killer kids. At first, I was concerned with the casting of Sarah (Taylor Schilling). I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to separate her character from the one in Orange Is The New Black, but she absolutely surprised me. She slayed it as the protective mother who would do anything for her child.
I also really enjoyed the casting of Brittany Allen (Jigsaw 2017 – read our review here, What Keeps you Alive 2018 – read our review here). I think she is phenomenal and was a key player to my enjoyment in The Prodigy. Jackson Robert Scott, whom you might recognize as Georgie in 2017’s IT (read our review here) helms the lead of Miles. He is really upping his ante as a creepy little kid. I think he was shear perfection. They had him go to places I didn’t think they would. In one scene, he says something that had my jaw hanging to the floor… I was not expecting it to go there at all!
To add to the creepiness of the film, they really did have some stellar shots, along with the haunting musical score. I haven’t actually jumped in my seat in a while, and The Prodigy accomplished that twice for me! If you know me, that’s saying a lot!
Without going into spoiler territory, I will say that I really loved the concept of this script. Maybe it’s not completely original, but I feel it has enough of a twist to give The Prodigy a nice edge over other type films such as The Omen, The Bad Seed, and Orphan. Some may say this movie is forgettable, but I disagree.
What Doesn’t Work:
Although I was fully surprised at how much I embraced The Prodigy, there were a few missteps along the way. First off, there was no need for the father in this movie at all. He was as stale as a pringle chip after a night with the lid left off. Some of the acting was not up par. I don’t have that many qualms with this film, mostly just that the father wasn’t needed in the slightest.
Final Thoughts:
I think The Prodigy was fun, unexpected gem of a film. The film may not be genius, but it is clever. I would recommend going to see it while it is still in theaters, and see if it gives you the jump scares like it did me!
