I remember this film as being the best and exciting summer of my life. I was only 11/12 years old and I thought I was so cool being in a film. We went to the Dorchester hotel to promote the film and then had all the problems in getting a certificate passed on it. I remember watching the film in a bar in New Malden and it actually looked liked my mouth never moved when I spoke my words. I played a girl at the home called Julie. I have only met one other person outside of my family who ever watched it and they actually liked it! I DO NOT OWN A COPY AND IF ANYBODY KNOWS WHERE I CAN GET HOLD OF ONE I WOULD BE GRATEFUL. The house has since been knocked down and new flats built on the site. I would love to know whatever happened to the other kids in it and also to Meg and Ginny.
15 Reviews
you had to be a part of it to enjoy it !
p-m-j-evans1 January 2006
As a teenager back in 1983 who wasn't actually in Meg's drama school but found friendship with the cast. I had a wonderful time being buried and used as a zombie in the nightmare scene - check out the only Zombie wearing a pair of creepers and dodgy socks. The film is low budget, cheap effects, less than scary but was fun to be a part of. If you like B rate movies and enjoy the simplicity of that era it's worth a look (if you can find a copy of it). The location of 45 Kingston Road, New Malden was in fact a run down building being used as a squat. It was quite a scary building on it's own but not because of the cast and crew. The building is no longer there and the site was re-developed a few years later. Of all the cast and crew - Meg's Daughter one Ginny Rose had actually been on TV before so I was told, I think in an episode of Dr. Who if memory serves. But fame found it's way to another involved in the production. Neil Longley, now better known as Neil Long on the Tolworth based Radio Station "Radio Jackie"
Bizarre amateur curiosity
Stevieboy66618 November 2017
On face value it would be easy to right this off as a pie of crap. And I wouldn't argue with those who think that. However it is essential to take on board that this was a very cheap shot on video movie using amateurs for a school project. Yes, the acting is bad. The music often drowns out the dialogue. The picture quality is poor at best. And the plot is just barmy (even Jesus gets in on the act!). But on the positive side the movie held my attention throughout, I wanted to know was going to happen next. Kind of a hypnotic effect. There's a fair smattering of gore, plus we get a few zombies thrown in for good measure. It's also a good glimpse of England back in 1983. A strange movie indeed, certainly not to your average horror fan's taste but for those who seek out strange films then it's worth a look.
Who needs the Children's Film Foundation when you can worship Satan?
gavcrimson28 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Suffer Little Children is an infamous Low-Fi horror film that emerged from New Malden, Surrey in 1984. A 'Kid's film' it was produced by The Meg Shanks Drama School seemingly as a promotional tool for the talents of her early and pre-teen pupils. While at any other time such a project would probably never been seen outside of casting agents or proud parents in the early Eighties the film managed to reach a paying public thanks to a relatively wide scale tape release through fly-by-night label Films Galore.
Suffer Little Children opens with some location defining computer generated titles; "Sullivan's Children's' Home", "Sunday". At the home, troubled kids idly play in the cramped front room and chase each other around the corridors. The chaotic scene is vaguely supervised by the home's two staff members Maurice and Jenny. Polar opposites, she's an easy going leg warmers sporting 80s blonde and has a good rapport with the kids, Maurice on the other hand is an old fashioned man of Gray jumpers and NHS glasses, resembling Norman Eshley in George and Mildred. An average Sunday at the home is interrupted by the arrival of a mute child on the doorstep bearing a letter which reads "Please take care of Elizabeth, she can't speak.". Elizabeth is taken to meet the other children, one of them, Sarah asks what's Elizabeth's 'problem' i.e. why can't she speak. Jenny gently tells the girl off for being so rude, rather less forgiving Elizabeth uses her psychic powers (indicated by a crash zoom on her eyes and a blast of heavy metal music on the soundtrack) and a door slams into Sarah's face knocking her to the floor. Liz means business.
"That Evening" Two of the other girls have a joint nightmare- brought on by either Elizabeth or a late night viewing of Plague of the Zombies- that has zombies clawing their way out of the ground and pursuing the girls. In the midst of their terror the two girls encounter Elizabeth who beckons them to a picnic. The zombies stumble upon the girls and join in the picnic as well. After the nightmare the two girls become Elizabeth's minions.
Elizabeth gets up to all sorts, using her demonic powers to knock fellow children down stairs, even causing a fight in a trendy New Wave club. By the time the adults cotton on Evil Liz has put her plan into action, growling the films title in a Linda Blair voice and turning her powers on Jenny and Maurice who get locked in the staff room and are hit by a levitating potted plant. The rest of the children end up worshipping Elizabeth in the attic and chanting "Come, Devil, Come". Just when it appears all is lost, who should magically appear but a peeved Jesus Christ who then rather un-Christianly starts zapping all of the devil worshipping little baskets into oblivion and does battle with Liz, truly insane.
As you might expect from a film whose end credits admit to being made by people with "no experience and no money" a certain amount of patience is required for Suffer Little Children, since unlike say Invitation to Hell or Cliff Twemlow's North West actioners the film never manages to transcend its home movie origins. Had it been a 'real' film made by professionals Suffer Little Children would have made for a superb little horror film, and in its camcorder shot amateur hour incarnation there are still several noteworthy moments that shine through, thinking especially of the zombie dream sequence and the closing scenes with the evil kids collecting knives and hammers and going on an adult killing rampage. The climax is a true shocker in light of the leisurely paced nature of the rest of the film with the taboo use of child actors in an wildly gory spectacle. Special mention is also due to Nicola Diana, the child actress playing Elizabeth who cuts a genuinely disquieting figure. By the film's end she's presiding over satanic rituals and clad in a white bed sheet like a mini-version of Linda Hayden in Blood on Satan's Claw.
What Director Alan Briggs and Shanks lacked in film-making know-how they made up for in self-promotion holding many heavily reported on publicity stunts during Suffer Little Children's making and video release. Including holding a casting call for zombies and having Meg Shanks pupils hold a protest outside of Richard Attenborough's office attempting to get Dickie to endorse the film. Pushing audience gullibility a bit, in a pre-Blair Witch touch the filmmakers claimed the film was a reconstruction of actual events that took place at a house in New Malden in August, 1984. In case anyone doubted this claim they even printed the address on the back of the video (45 Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey, if you're interested).
Not all publicity is good publicity though, released at the height of Video Nasty hysteria the film and its makers ultimately fell foul of the tabloid press who in their typical 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story' manner managed to make the film sound as disreputable an undertaking as possible. The ensuing controversy kept the film name checked in the tabloids and film trade magazines throughout 1985. By all accounts the video distributor and Shanks suffered much unnecessary police harassment as a result, the human cost of a tabloid 'good story' of which the consequences to people's lives and reputations last long after said newspapers become yesterday's fish and chip paper. While Director Briggs has at least one other credit to his name Ghetto Wars -described as a 'post-apocalyptic sci-fi film'- the bad press meant Meg Shanks and her little drama school were never heard from again. Evil kids are one thing, but the storm in a teacup case of Suffer Little Children suggests the scariest thing about 1980s Britain was the tabloid press.
Suffer Little Children opens with some location defining computer generated titles; "Sullivan's Children's' Home", "Sunday". At the home, troubled kids idly play in the cramped front room and chase each other around the corridors. The chaotic scene is vaguely supervised by the home's two staff members Maurice and Jenny. Polar opposites, she's an easy going leg warmers sporting 80s blonde and has a good rapport with the kids, Maurice on the other hand is an old fashioned man of Gray jumpers and NHS glasses, resembling Norman Eshley in George and Mildred. An average Sunday at the home is interrupted by the arrival of a mute child on the doorstep bearing a letter which reads "Please take care of Elizabeth, she can't speak.". Elizabeth is taken to meet the other children, one of them, Sarah asks what's Elizabeth's 'problem' i.e. why can't she speak. Jenny gently tells the girl off for being so rude, rather less forgiving Elizabeth uses her psychic powers (indicated by a crash zoom on her eyes and a blast of heavy metal music on the soundtrack) and a door slams into Sarah's face knocking her to the floor. Liz means business.
"That Evening" Two of the other girls have a joint nightmare- brought on by either Elizabeth or a late night viewing of Plague of the Zombies- that has zombies clawing their way out of the ground and pursuing the girls. In the midst of their terror the two girls encounter Elizabeth who beckons them to a picnic. The zombies stumble upon the girls and join in the picnic as well. After the nightmare the two girls become Elizabeth's minions.
Elizabeth gets up to all sorts, using her demonic powers to knock fellow children down stairs, even causing a fight in a trendy New Wave club. By the time the adults cotton on Evil Liz has put her plan into action, growling the films title in a Linda Blair voice and turning her powers on Jenny and Maurice who get locked in the staff room and are hit by a levitating potted plant. The rest of the children end up worshipping Elizabeth in the attic and chanting "Come, Devil, Come". Just when it appears all is lost, who should magically appear but a peeved Jesus Christ who then rather un-Christianly starts zapping all of the devil worshipping little baskets into oblivion and does battle with Liz, truly insane.
As you might expect from a film whose end credits admit to being made by people with "no experience and no money" a certain amount of patience is required for Suffer Little Children, since unlike say Invitation to Hell or Cliff Twemlow's North West actioners the film never manages to transcend its home movie origins. Had it been a 'real' film made by professionals Suffer Little Children would have made for a superb little horror film, and in its camcorder shot amateur hour incarnation there are still several noteworthy moments that shine through, thinking especially of the zombie dream sequence and the closing scenes with the evil kids collecting knives and hammers and going on an adult killing rampage. The climax is a true shocker in light of the leisurely paced nature of the rest of the film with the taboo use of child actors in an wildly gory spectacle. Special mention is also due to Nicola Diana, the child actress playing Elizabeth who cuts a genuinely disquieting figure. By the film's end she's presiding over satanic rituals and clad in a white bed sheet like a mini-version of Linda Hayden in Blood on Satan's Claw.
What Director Alan Briggs and Shanks lacked in film-making know-how they made up for in self-promotion holding many heavily reported on publicity stunts during Suffer Little Children's making and video release. Including holding a casting call for zombies and having Meg Shanks pupils hold a protest outside of Richard Attenborough's office attempting to get Dickie to endorse the film. Pushing audience gullibility a bit, in a pre-Blair Witch touch the filmmakers claimed the film was a reconstruction of actual events that took place at a house in New Malden in August, 1984. In case anyone doubted this claim they even printed the address on the back of the video (45 Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey, if you're interested).
Not all publicity is good publicity though, released at the height of Video Nasty hysteria the film and its makers ultimately fell foul of the tabloid press who in their typical 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story' manner managed to make the film sound as disreputable an undertaking as possible. The ensuing controversy kept the film name checked in the tabloids and film trade magazines throughout 1985. By all accounts the video distributor and Shanks suffered much unnecessary police harassment as a result, the human cost of a tabloid 'good story' of which the consequences to people's lives and reputations last long after said newspapers become yesterday's fish and chip paper. While Director Briggs has at least one other credit to his name Ghetto Wars -described as a 'post-apocalyptic sci-fi film'- the bad press meant Meg Shanks and her little drama school were never heard from again. Evil kids are one thing, but the storm in a teacup case of Suffer Little Children suggests the scariest thing about 1980s Britain was the tabloid press.
It's the audience that suffers
Coventry14 November 2010
This is an intolerably cheap and amateurishly edited together independent horror flick that for some reason enjoys a cult-status that it absolutely doesn't deserve. I once saw a VHS copy of this movie being sold on eBay for more than £500.00! Damn, I pity the person who spent such a massive amount of money on this utterly worthless piece of junk! "Suffer, Little Children" is so bad that I can hardly find enough synonyms for awful to describe what's going on here. It's practically unwatchable, with lousy editing, incomprehensible narration, inaudible dialogs (also because the acting performances are so inept) and no sign of coherence or pace whatsoever. The story plays at a children's home where the caretakers suddenly and unannounced have to take custody of a nine-year-old mute girl with a macabre persona. The girl has the ability to inflict nightmarish imagery onto others and hypnotizes the rest of the kids. She subsequently enjoys forcing them to mutilate and even kill themselves in gruesome ways. Personally, I'm a huge sucker for (evil) kids in horror movies! Some of my favorite genre films revolve on murderous children, like "Who Can Kill A Child" and "The Omen" for example, but this one is hopeless and even infuriating. The premise shows such enormous potential, yet the elaboration is a total mess. There wasn't any money for make-up effects, so don't go around expecting gory killings or creepy kids' faces. Along with a handful of other amateur films that were made around the same era, like "Goremet – Zombie Chef from Hell" and "Mad Mutilator", "Suffer Little Children" is one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life. Do NOT watch it, please!
Children of Lucifer.
HumanoidOfFlesh2 April 2010
A mute little girl named Elizabeth(Nicola Diana)comes to Sullivans Children's Home after being left by her mother.The girl seems weird and soon strange things begin to happen.She turns out to be an evil Satanic minion with telekinetic power who raises some hell at Children's Home.Her children of Satan begin to group behind her.It's time for Jesus Christ to show up and destroy the evil...Utterly cheesy and inept horror movie made by the students of Drama School.The editing is horrible,the plot makes no sense and the lighting is amateurish.The acting of children is gloriously wooden and the noisy climax is a laugh riot with Jesus saving the world from evil.If you like low-budget grade-Z trash give "Suffer,Little Children" a look.4 out of 10.
A movie by and not for kids
BandSAboutMovies20 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A beyond low budget film made by a drama school and directed by the former owner of the Brixton Academy, Alan Briggs, this movie is strange beyond strange. Basically shot on VHS yet proclaiming that it's based on true events, it comes off as both amateur hour and endearingly earnest. It's a combination that more than pays off.
Elizabeth shows up at a children's school with a note that says she'd be better off being there. That's because she's possessed - not to skate, but by Satan. Soon, zombies are rising from the dead and the other children are under her control.
This sounds like so many movies that I love, like Cathy's Curse, but this movie makes it even better by having blaring heavy metal play every time Satan's powers are used and VHS static between each and every transition.
It's the last fifteen minutes of the movie that make it great, with the evil kids decimating the adults until Jesus Christ himself shows up to take care of business, complete with video game drones, boops and beeps.
No, I didn't believe it either.
You have to love a movie that has its child actors writing about it on IMDB.
According to Severin, "Suffer, Little Children is a reconstruction of the events, which took place at 45 Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey, England in August 1984. None of these events were reported in the press and now the house is scheduled for demolition in the immediate future."
You basically want this in your life right now.
Elizabeth shows up at a children's school with a note that says she'd be better off being there. That's because she's possessed - not to skate, but by Satan. Soon, zombies are rising from the dead and the other children are under her control.
This sounds like so many movies that I love, like Cathy's Curse, but this movie makes it even better by having blaring heavy metal play every time Satan's powers are used and VHS static between each and every transition.
It's the last fifteen minutes of the movie that make it great, with the evil kids decimating the adults until Jesus Christ himself shows up to take care of business, complete with video game drones, boops and beeps.
No, I didn't believe it either.
You have to love a movie that has its child actors writing about it on IMDB.
According to Severin, "Suffer, Little Children is a reconstruction of the events, which took place at 45 Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey, England in August 1984. None of these events were reported in the press and now the house is scheduled for demolition in the immediate future."
You basically want this in your life right now.
Not too bad for having no budget
Johan_Wondering_on_Waves14 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Had this been done by professionals I doubt I would have given it more than 3. However it has been made by drama students with no budget and limited resources. The story is pretty basic. It takes place in an orphanage. One day a girl named Elizabeth knocks on the door with a written message in her hand. Elizabeth can't speak and is taken care of by the caretakers. Elizabeth seems rather harmless until she is gifted a necklace with a cross as present. This she uses rather effectively to get some of the kids under her control and "accidents" start to happen. There is a lot of rather boring dialogue but the build-up is good, the first accidents are rather tame but at almost the 1 hour mark things really start to get bad. Camera work was pretty effective. I was also impressed with the dream sequence where Elizabeth gets the first 2 kids under her demonic control. The ending well was pretty lame as if they ran out of ideas. The title of the movie is also the title of a song played in the movie at some point, rather catchy I must say.
Admirable But Slow No-Budget Horror
juderussell-8409418 February 2020
Look, this movie is bad. Really bad, but there's something very endearing about it that keeps me from calling it a total wash out. The concept itself of a young girl arriving at a children's home and causing all sorts of bloody and awful events is an interesting one, but the script just isn't there yet. Of course, I could sit here and complain about the camerawork all day long, but this was obviously shot on VHS for about three bucks, so it never had a chance. Even with the biggest budget and best lighting in the world, video is never going to look good.
There's some ingenuity at play here and a few moments put a smile on my face, but even at 75 minutes, it seems a little long and padded - as if they just got their friends together and improvised the entire film in a weekend, leading to some endless scenes of rambling that are impossible to hear due to, I'm assuming, capturing the audio from the camera itself.
I still can't bring myself to hate Suffer, Little Children. It has grit and a spunky determination that got me through some of the slower moments.
There's some ingenuity at play here and a few moments put a smile on my face, but even at 75 minutes, it seems a little long and padded - as if they just got their friends together and improvised the entire film in a weekend, leading to some endless scenes of rambling that are impossible to hear due to, I'm assuming, capturing the audio from the camera itself.
I still can't bring myself to hate Suffer, Little Children. It has grit and a spunky determination that got me through some of the slower moments.
Endearingly low-fi horror
Leofwine_draca30 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I thought SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN was a hoot but then I write as a fan of low fi British productions of the 1980s, which always remind me of my childhood. I don't think a lack of money or a lack of technical skill impinges much on a good story, and this nasty-style film certainly has that. It's simple stuff indeed, with a school for troubled kids invaded by a mute girl with psychic powers and a penchant for murder. The tacky kill scenes are hilariously done and surprisingly bloody at times, particularly during the OTT massacre at the climax. The acting from the adults is even worse, although the kids are quite naturalistic. Some of the directorial choices certainly raise eyebrows but the religious-themed ending works a treat, and I found the whole thing rather endearing.
It's the viewers that suffer.
BA_Harrison25 June 2020
A young girl is found on the doorstep of a children's home, a note explaining that her name is Elizabeth and that she is mute. The home's well-meaning carers, Maurice (Colin Chamberlain) and Jenny (Ginny Rose), invite the girl to stay, unaware that she possesses demonic powers.
Ultra-low-budget shot-on-video horror Suffer Little Children was made to promote the dubious talents of the precocious tykes attending classes at Meg Shanks' New Malden drama school. Not content with flogging grainy VHS copies of their home movie to doting parents, Shanks somehow found a distributor (Films Galore) who neglected to submit the film to the BBFC; in doing so, Suffer Little Children became swept up in the whole 'video nasty' debacle, thereby ensuring a level of notoriety it doesn't really deserve. What it deserves is to be totally ignored.
The movie's amateur pedigree is evident in every frame, from the title cards knocked up on a home computer, to the awful acting (actors regularly flub their lines), to the static camerawork, to the choppy editing and diabolical sound recording (music frequently drowns out the improvised dialogue). For the excruciating first hour of the film, nothing much of interest happens, leaving one wondering why the cover for the DVD boasts the label 'Strong Uncut Version'. All becomes clear, however, in the final fifteen minutes -- a crazy quarter-of-an-hour of violence that is just as technically inept as all that has gone before, but which clearly ruffled feathers thanks to the heady concoction of killer kids, buckets of blood, and the intervention of none other than Jesus Christ himself!
This final act is certainly something 'special', as Elizabeth uses her powers to whip the other children into a Satanic frenzy of bloodlust, the youngsters grabbing kitchen implements and getting all stabby. The arrival of Jesus to vanquish the evil is truly a sight to behold, but it still isn't enough to make up for all the amateurish drivel that has gone before (in this case, Christ is NOT the Redeemer). Fans of z-grade garbage should give this bizarre '80s oddity a one-time watch just to tick it off their list, but everyone else would be wise to give it a miss.
Ultra-low-budget shot-on-video horror Suffer Little Children was made to promote the dubious talents of the precocious tykes attending classes at Meg Shanks' New Malden drama school. Not content with flogging grainy VHS copies of their home movie to doting parents, Shanks somehow found a distributor (Films Galore) who neglected to submit the film to the BBFC; in doing so, Suffer Little Children became swept up in the whole 'video nasty' debacle, thereby ensuring a level of notoriety it doesn't really deserve. What it deserves is to be totally ignored.
The movie's amateur pedigree is evident in every frame, from the title cards knocked up on a home computer, to the awful acting (actors regularly flub their lines), to the static camerawork, to the choppy editing and diabolical sound recording (music frequently drowns out the improvised dialogue). For the excruciating first hour of the film, nothing much of interest happens, leaving one wondering why the cover for the DVD boasts the label 'Strong Uncut Version'. All becomes clear, however, in the final fifteen minutes -- a crazy quarter-of-an-hour of violence that is just as technically inept as all that has gone before, but which clearly ruffled feathers thanks to the heady concoction of killer kids, buckets of blood, and the intervention of none other than Jesus Christ himself!
This final act is certainly something 'special', as Elizabeth uses her powers to whip the other children into a Satanic frenzy of bloodlust, the youngsters grabbing kitchen implements and getting all stabby. The arrival of Jesus to vanquish the evil is truly a sight to behold, but it still isn't enough to make up for all the amateurish drivel that has gone before (in this case, Christ is NOT the Redeemer). Fans of z-grade garbage should give this bizarre '80s oddity a one-time watch just to tick it off their list, but everyone else would be wise to give it a miss.
Come, devil, come!
Woodyanders28 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Evil mute girl Elizabeth (a creepy portrayal by Nicola Diana) gets dumped by persons unknown at a children's home located in the British countryside. Elizabeth soon begins to terrorize the other residents of the place with her formidable demonic powers.
Okay, so this micro-budget shot-on-video item was clearly shot by amateurs with more enthusiasm than ability, but fortunately director Alan Briggs does still manage to develop a genuinely eerie and unsettling atmosphere while also grounding the premise in a plausibly drab everyday reality. Moreover, the sluggish pacing and rather uneventful opening act is more than compensated for by a gloriously bonkers climax in which a bunch of kids go on a gruesome adult slaughtering rampage before none other than Jesus finally materializes to save the day (!). This film deserves extra praise for its take-no-prisoners attitude: Children are severely hurt, placed in all kinds of danger, bump off several grown ups, and a few kids are even killed themselves. A cool little fright flick.
Okay, so this micro-budget shot-on-video item was clearly shot by amateurs with more enthusiasm than ability, but fortunately director Alan Briggs does still manage to develop a genuinely eerie and unsettling atmosphere while also grounding the premise in a plausibly drab everyday reality. Moreover, the sluggish pacing and rather uneventful opening act is more than compensated for by a gloriously bonkers climax in which a bunch of kids go on a gruesome adult slaughtering rampage before none other than Jesus finally materializes to save the day (!). This film deserves extra praise for its take-no-prisoners attitude: Children are severely hurt, placed in all kinds of danger, bump off several grown ups, and a few kids are even killed themselves. A cool little fright flick.
I'm Gonna Feel Bad About This Review.
P3n-E-W1s35 July 2022
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Suffer Little Children; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.50 Direction: 0.25 Pace: 0.00 Acting: 0.50 Enjoyment: 0.50
TOTAL: 2.75 out of 10.00
Okay, let me say to everyone involved with this movie, thank you. I know I've given it a lousy rating, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your hard work since you gave most of it for free.
Meg Shanks, who wrote this little gruesome Goodness Vs Evil tale, throws everything into it but the kitchen sink - though it's there lurking in the background. She even gives us an exceedingly righteous guest star indeed. But I won't spoil it for you. You'll have to watch the movie to see who it is. The story occurs in the confines of a children's home and revolves around their mysterious mute new arrival, Elizabeth. Lizzy isn't right. Though she's a beautiful child and her looks win the hearts of most of the home's staff, she appears to ignore everyone and everything. And then the puzzling incidents start. Fights kick-off without provocation, kids fall down the stairs, and when questioned, they reply with the same answers, verbatim. But in the background, there lurks Lizzy. Why do these violent episodes happen around the girl? What is wrong with this child? Shanks does a lot to try and make the story as appealing as possible, and to be honest, I think it's a bloody good tale and should be refilmed into a more polished picture. I especially liked that she doesn't shy away from using every available item in the religious continuum - the finale is superb. I will state that she got one thing wrong - the cross. When the pop star gives it to Lizzy, she should wear it inverted. Or at the least, turn it upside down when using it to possess somebody.
Then we get to the direction and, oh dear. The complete movie's shot on a standard video camera, and the director had little skill behind its lens. Because of this, the film is well below-par and missing a lot of essential elements, such as the atmosphere. And, that is never a good thing for a horror flick - you want some scares, even the jump kind will do, at the very least. Well, rest assured you won't find them here. Alan Briggs does include a few, though very little, nicely composed shots. The best of these comes at the movie's end when we see the aftermath on the stairs. I may have become complacent with his amateur filming, but some of these images worked for me. Another downside is the special effects. The stabbing, utilising the blood bags, is passable, and so is the slow lifting of the jade plant from the table as you cannot see the wire. However, the dancing comb is silly and cringeworthy, even though the wire remains invisible. And the end light-fight between the Evil and Righteous adversaries is poor. It lasts too long, and should you suffer from epilepsy, get ready for a fit. Something that didn't need to be invisible was the tempo, but it's non-existent here. There are no timing issues as everything is shot and used. Forget about cutting to speed up the excitement. And, there are more than a few places that needed it. One of the worst components is the soundtrack. At times, you can't hear the performers over the musical accompaniment. In others, there isn't anything but music. But, hey, that's what you get when you're only using the video recorder's built-in mic.
The cast, by turns, is either okay or terrible. Only a few performers give a constantly credible portrayal of their character. One of the best is the blonde woman who plays the cook and housekeeper. If somebody from this nonprofessional production were to go forward, it was her.
Suffer Little Children is not a great movie, but that said, it isn't a professional movie or even an indie flick. It has novice scrawled in large letters through every frame, but it still has some good sections, like the story. I cannot recommend this to everyone. However, if you're thinking of shooting a film on your phone, watch this flick and see what you can accomplish for nothing. And remember, you have more now than they did back then - Home studio software for editing, cutting, and soundtracking your flick, for example.
Now Jesus has left the building, nip across and check out my Absolute Horror list to see where I ranked Suffer Little Children.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Oh, I don't feel too terrible. I wasn't that harsh - I must be losing my touch.
Story: 1.50 Direction: 0.25 Pace: 0.00 Acting: 0.50 Enjoyment: 0.50
TOTAL: 2.75 out of 10.00
Okay, let me say to everyone involved with this movie, thank you. I know I've given it a lousy rating, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your hard work since you gave most of it for free.
Meg Shanks, who wrote this little gruesome Goodness Vs Evil tale, throws everything into it but the kitchen sink - though it's there lurking in the background. She even gives us an exceedingly righteous guest star indeed. But I won't spoil it for you. You'll have to watch the movie to see who it is. The story occurs in the confines of a children's home and revolves around their mysterious mute new arrival, Elizabeth. Lizzy isn't right. Though she's a beautiful child and her looks win the hearts of most of the home's staff, she appears to ignore everyone and everything. And then the puzzling incidents start. Fights kick-off without provocation, kids fall down the stairs, and when questioned, they reply with the same answers, verbatim. But in the background, there lurks Lizzy. Why do these violent episodes happen around the girl? What is wrong with this child? Shanks does a lot to try and make the story as appealing as possible, and to be honest, I think it's a bloody good tale and should be refilmed into a more polished picture. I especially liked that she doesn't shy away from using every available item in the religious continuum - the finale is superb. I will state that she got one thing wrong - the cross. When the pop star gives it to Lizzy, she should wear it inverted. Or at the least, turn it upside down when using it to possess somebody.
Then we get to the direction and, oh dear. The complete movie's shot on a standard video camera, and the director had little skill behind its lens. Because of this, the film is well below-par and missing a lot of essential elements, such as the atmosphere. And, that is never a good thing for a horror flick - you want some scares, even the jump kind will do, at the very least. Well, rest assured you won't find them here. Alan Briggs does include a few, though very little, nicely composed shots. The best of these comes at the movie's end when we see the aftermath on the stairs. I may have become complacent with his amateur filming, but some of these images worked for me. Another downside is the special effects. The stabbing, utilising the blood bags, is passable, and so is the slow lifting of the jade plant from the table as you cannot see the wire. However, the dancing comb is silly and cringeworthy, even though the wire remains invisible. And the end light-fight between the Evil and Righteous adversaries is poor. It lasts too long, and should you suffer from epilepsy, get ready for a fit. Something that didn't need to be invisible was the tempo, but it's non-existent here. There are no timing issues as everything is shot and used. Forget about cutting to speed up the excitement. And, there are more than a few places that needed it. One of the worst components is the soundtrack. At times, you can't hear the performers over the musical accompaniment. In others, there isn't anything but music. But, hey, that's what you get when you're only using the video recorder's built-in mic.
The cast, by turns, is either okay or terrible. Only a few performers give a constantly credible portrayal of their character. One of the best is the blonde woman who plays the cook and housekeeper. If somebody from this nonprofessional production were to go forward, it was her.
Suffer Little Children is not a great movie, but that said, it isn't a professional movie or even an indie flick. It has novice scrawled in large letters through every frame, but it still has some good sections, like the story. I cannot recommend this to everyone. However, if you're thinking of shooting a film on your phone, watch this flick and see what you can accomplish for nothing. And remember, you have more now than they did back then - Home studio software for editing, cutting, and soundtracking your flick, for example.
Now Jesus has left the building, nip across and check out my Absolute Horror list to see where I ranked Suffer Little Children.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Oh, I don't feel too terrible. I wasn't that harsh - I must be losing my touch.
Great Title, Lousy Film
Michael_Elliott2 October 2017
Suffer Little Children (1983)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
This British shocker was quite controversial when it was first released but by today's standards it's pretty tame stuff. The story deals with a children's home that takes in a young mute girl who was left on their door step. It doesn't take long for strange things to start happening.
SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN was caught up in the Video Nasty craze and it's easy to see why. It's not because the film was overly violent or more shocking than some of the films on the list but this one here does deal with murdering children so it's not too hard to see why certain groups were upset. With that being said, the film starts off good and ends on a good note but sadly everything in the middle is just a downright bore and hard to sit through.
In fact, the middle section is so darn boring that I can't help but think that most people will either be hitting the eject button or not paying too much attention. Either way one should really hang in there because the film goes downright crazy during the finale and has a certain cameo that just comes out of nowhere. The film offers up a few bloody deaths along the way but the majority of them are saved for the ending as well.
On a technical level the film is pretty ugly all around. The movie was shot-on-video and it looks rather ugly. I'd also argue that the majority of the acting was quite poor and at times the dialogue was hard to understand. SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN has a terrific title and some good moments scattered throughout it but on the whole there's not too much going for it.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
This British shocker was quite controversial when it was first released but by today's standards it's pretty tame stuff. The story deals with a children's home that takes in a young mute girl who was left on their door step. It doesn't take long for strange things to start happening.
SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN was caught up in the Video Nasty craze and it's easy to see why. It's not because the film was overly violent or more shocking than some of the films on the list but this one here does deal with murdering children so it's not too hard to see why certain groups were upset. With that being said, the film starts off good and ends on a good note but sadly everything in the middle is just a downright bore and hard to sit through.
In fact, the middle section is so darn boring that I can't help but think that most people will either be hitting the eject button or not paying too much attention. Either way one should really hang in there because the film goes downright crazy during the finale and has a certain cameo that just comes out of nowhere. The film offers up a few bloody deaths along the way but the majority of them are saved for the ending as well.
On a technical level the film is pretty ugly all around. The movie was shot-on-video and it looks rather ugly. I'd also argue that the majority of the acting was quite poor and at times the dialogue was hard to understand. SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN has a terrific title and some good moments scattered throughout it but on the whole there's not too much going for it.
A kids drama project gets swept up in a nations moral panic in an amateur production given a video release.
mwilson197629 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Purporting to be a reconstruction of real events that took place at the now derelict Sullivan Children's Home, this ultra-low budget affair was filmed by a drama school as part of a project using a home video camera, and was directed by the former owner of London concert venue the Brixton Academy. It somehow got a home video release in the U.K. and managed to get swept up in the Video Nasty moral panic of the early 1980's. When a mute girl turns up on the doorstep with a letter suggesting that she has been abandoned by her parents, it triggers a chain reaction of mysterious injuries and inexplicable outbursts of violence between the other children. With lots of uneven performances, limp staging, dodgy photography and a sound mix is that is rudimentary, bordering on non-existent (it's either music or dialogue, whenever it's both, the latter is completely obliterated), it's the very definition of amateur hour and is quite frankly awful. On the other hand, it has zombies (who sit down and join in a picnic), kids spitting blood, adults bloodily killed by kids and bloodily killing kids in self-defense, children chanting "Come, Satan, come!" like demented metal fans, and Jesus Christ turning up at the end to save the day, complete with his crown of thorns and firing laser beams.
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