The Children

1980
R
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

YOUR RATING

Nathanael Albright and Sarah Albright in The Children (1980)

A nuclear-plant leak turns a bus-load of children into murderous atomic zombies with black fingernails.

Play trailer1:43

1 Video

92 Photos

Horror Sci-Fi

A nuclear-plant leak turns a bus-load of children into murderous atomic zombies with black fingernails.A nuclear-plant leak turns a bus-load of children into murderous atomic zombies with black fingernails.A nuclear-plant leak turns a bus-load of children into murderous atomic zombies with black fingernails.

Director
- Max Kalmanowicz
Writers
- Carlton J. Albright
- Edward Terry
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Max Kalmanowicz
Writers
- Carlton J. Albright
- Edward Terry
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 1:43

Trailer

Photos92

+ 88

More like this

5.1

4.8

5.3

5.6

5.1

4.8

Don't Answer the Phone!

5.1

5.2

5.9

4.3

5.5

5.7

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Co-writer / producer Carlton J. Albright struck several deals in the course of making this film. One involved giving to the favored charity of the cemetery caretakers in order to use the cemetery seen in the film. Another involved hiring a local girl as a production assistant so her father would agree to the use of his house.

Goofs
When the Sheriff first comes upon the school bus, it's parked across from the cemetery. When the sheriff returns with Tommy's mother, it's now parked next to the cemetery.

Quotes
Dr. Joyce Gould: I just don't know how Leslie's gonna take it when I tell her Tommy's missing.
Sheriff Billy Hart: Don't tell her.
Dr. Joyce Gould: ...That's one way to deal with it...

Alternate versions
The Vinegar Syndrome home video release, as well as streaming releases, feature an additional scene set in a diner in which the sheriff speaks to a waitress.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: On Golden Pond, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Four Friends, Modern Problems (1982)

User reviews96

Review

Featured review

they couldn't have made it any better if they tried

I first saw this movie when I was a kid and it horrified me. A few decades have passed and I finally rewatched it and I was amazed. Here's a fun horror flick with instantly likeable characters and a

very creepy story. As hardened of a horror fan as I am, even I was creeped out by some of the scenes in this flick (the kids smiling reflections in the window). Sure it's low budget, but that's what's

great about it. And credit goes to the filmmakers for making a consistantly entertaining film, throwing logic to the wind and not explaining why the kid's hands must be cut off or why they are now indestructable. It just makes for a lot of great scenes (Chopping up kids!!! AMAZING!). Plus, they created tension very well. Hope they give this a special treatment on DVD one day.