The Omen? No, man – not quite. This modern take on the demonic child movie by directing team Mitesh Kumar Patel and Sam Son eschew the usual stuffy classiness of the subgenre in favour of something far more playful than portentous. Case in point: Eric Roberts is in it.
Barely in it, in-keeping with the character actor’s recent Straight to DVD/streaming output, sticking around just long enough to deliver a bit of exposition and nab top billing on the IMDb. Eric Roberts Roberts-ing it up is about the only thing which makes sense in this muddled, confused scary baby movie. It’s like Rosemary’s Baby if Polanski had decided to make Rosemary’s Baby about the husband instead, and with zombies.
From its bizarre opening sequence onwards, much of Child of Satan plays from the left field, its ideas loosely strung together and barely coherent. It has the tone of a comedy/horror, but it’s rarely funny; packed full of sex sequences, but not remotely erotic. There are zombies, but it’s not a zombie film either – a spawn of Satan movie that’s completely lacking in weight or substance. If it were written, directed or acted with anything above borderline competence, it’d almost qualify for the arthouse.
But that’s not the case, and we’re lumbered with a jumbled, jarring mess which never quite knows – or seems to care – what it is. There are a few good ideas at play, but far too many bad ones for anything to take hold. Still, at least there’s never a dull moment.
CHILD OF SATAN / CERT: 15 / DIRECTORS: MITESH KUMAR PATEL, SAM SON / SCREENPLAY: JULIAN JAY BURTON, LEKHRAJ PATEL / STARRING: ERIC ROBERTS, CAITE UPTON, MYKEL SHANNON JENKINS, YVES BRIGHT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
