Children of the Night (1991)

Director:

Tony Randel

Writers:

Nicolas Falacci (screenplay)
Nicolas Falacci (story)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Pray for dawn.

Plot:

A schoolteacher teams up with with a priest to stop a town being overrun by vampires.

Plot Keywords:

Town | Vampire | Wino | Schoolteacher | Crucifix

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Karen Black	...	Karen Thompson
Peter DeLuise	...	Mark Gardner
Ami Dolenz	...	Lucy Barrett
Maya McLaughlin	...	Cindy Thompson
Evan MacKenzie	...	Frank Aldin
David Sawyer	...	Czakyr
Shirley Spiegler Jacobs	...	Grandma
Josette DiCarlo	...	Officer Gates
Lloyd J. Kalicki	...	Billy
Daniel Arthur Wray	...	Doc Fisher
Roger Perkovich	...	Gus Willman
Ray Maurin	...	Mayor Horton
Stacy Montezon	...	Jessica
Bekki Vallin	...	Jessica's Mom
Butch Mounce	...	The Milkman

Also Known As:

Les enfants des ténèbres (France) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Calumet, Michigan, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

Gus: My client is certainly entitled for compensation for pain and suffering.
Doc Fisher: Pain and suffering? The woman is dead.

"I am a bit of a night person myself."

The horror/comedy is such a hard thing to pull off. Few films get that delicate balance just right. These films include Re-animator, Bubba Ho-tep, and Return of the Living Dead. They do not include Children of the Night. I had high hopes for Children of the Night. It was a Fango production that had a few familiar faces and was directed by Tony Randel (Hellraiser II). However, looking back on Randel's filmography I believe he may not be the reason I love Hellraiser II. He's done some clunkers and this is one of them. The story is nothing new: a small town becomes besieged by the undead and it's up to an unlikely band of heroes to stop them. Normally, I like films with that plot but I think that's because I usually care about the heroes. Our heroes here include a virginal teenager (Ami Dolenz), a school teacher (Peter DeLuise), and a wino (Garrett Morris). I'm not really particularly impressed by those characters or the actors who portray them. Karen Black also shows up for no reason. I've never seen a role in which Karen Black wasn't hammy and over the top. That's all fine and dandy, but sometimes that's not what I want to see. Well, with the negatives pointed out, there were some excellent gross-out effects courtesy of KNB effects and, like most vampire flicks, they put their own little spin on vamp lore: underwater graves. I did think that was a nice touch, however, I think I will be sticking with Salem's Lot in the future.