Director: Nicholas McCarthy
Writer: Jeff Buhler (Screenplay)
Starring: Jackson Robert Scott, Taylor Schilling, Peter Mooney, Col Feore, Paul Fautuex, Brittany Allen, Paula Bourdreau
Plot: A mother concerned about her young son’s disturbing behavior thinks something supernatural may be affecting him.
Tagline – There’s Something Wrong With Miles
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Strong Jump-Scares
Story: The Prodigy starts as we see couple Sarah (Schilling) and John (Mooney) have their first child, Miles (Scott) grew faster than most children showing signs of genius, now 8-years-old Miles has reached new levels of disturbing behaviour, a level where Sarah must try to figure out what is wrong with her son.
Sarah takes Miles to see a specialist Arthur Jacobs (Feore) who offers answers, but the answer is even more disturbing than Sarah could imagine, she must figure out how to get her son back to normal before it is too late.
Thoughts on The Prodigy
Characters – Miles is the young boy that is turning into a genius, only he has a darker side which sees him acting violently towards people, he sleep walks, talks and must control the situation. Sarah is the mother of Miles, she sees the problems with Miles, trying to figure out how to help him, while become uneasy around her son, once she learns the truth. John is the father, he has come from an abusive family which sees him want to remain calm raising his own son, but even he can’t cope being around Miles. Arthur Jacobs is the doctor that can get to the truth of Miles head, he does unlock the truth which only makes Sarah’s life even harder.
Performances – Jackson Robert Scott is the strongest member of the cast, he has to deal with the innocent nature of a child and the other figure in his mind, a much darker one. Taylor Schilling is solid enough as the mother, taking most of the horror elements of the film. Peter Mooney struggles to make an impact in the film, which is more to do with the lack of character given to his role. Colm Feore fits the doctor role well even if he is only has limited involvement in the film.
Story – The story follows a mother than must learn what is wrong with her son before he turns into an evil force. Now the story could easily be compared to ‘The Omen’ this can be seen, but this film does bring us an original spin on the idea, while it does become clear from the opening scene it works to bring a new level of horror in the story. That is the only positive side of the story because this story is filled with flaws, which are all about the decision-making process, everything Sarah seems to do, doesn’t have any logic, when there are simple issues that could be solved, we just ignore them, it gets very frustrating. We also don’t get to see much of the lives the parents live, how can they afford a house like this when neither seems to have a job or career.
Horror – The horror in this film does include some very effective jump scares, sadly, some are used in the trailer, but the one where Sarah sees Miles in the hallway, is easily one of the best in recent years.
Settings – Most of the film seems to be set in the house, which shows how the evil within a child could come into your home without you knowing.
Special Effects – The effects are used well, they are not overly used, but the times we get them, they are used for added horror.
Scene of the Movie – The hallway hug.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Decision-Making processes.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror with great jump scares, but weak character decision-making, it will make you jump and hit your head against the wall.
Overall: Good for the scares.
Rating
