Ankle Biters

From the frozen north comes a comedy/horror so "horrible" that it sat on the shelf for two years and was given a name change. Hi-concept films (young children misinterpret love-making as a threat to their mother -- and seek retaliation) barely work for the SNL crowd, so this one was pushing the envelope even before filming started. Colin Mochrie, once considered one of Canada's best improv artists, seems lost here, as does most of the picture-perfect, airbrushed, cast. If you keep in mind that many Canadian projects enjoy government subsidies, the true source of the horror will become that much clearer.

The writers were THIS close to making dialogue that humans might actually say and behaviors that might be how people act. I mean, it was truly impressive to see that much effort put into almost hitting the mark. From the opening scene of Chase mutilating a player in a hockey match, I understood that I was watching something written by aliens posing as screenwriters.

This movie is neither a horror nor a black comedy. It tries to be either, but in a drunken way that just makes everyone involved seem desperate and kinda sad.

Characters are unlikable, though the little girls are kinda cute. The situations are ridiculous, and everyone seems to make the stupidest choices ever. We the viewers have to be told several times how good a mother she is, though all evidence points to the contrary. The score is always trying way too hard, and never really matches what's going on.

Even as background noise, this movie isn't good. Really should be only 2 stars, but the premise had a lot of potential in my opinion. Skip it, unless you really want to see for yourself how bad it is.

Ankle Biters (or Cherrypicker) is a story about four little girls who set out on a quest to destroy their mother's love life and harm their future stepdad, Sean (Zion Forest Lee). And they do succeed in a spectacular fashion.

It starts as a spoiled child comedy and feels kinda innocent. The girls just put spider eggs in Sean's ear and put a pin in an apple he's supposed to eat. But then, well, everything goes sideways. There's gore and there's death.

I was not impressed by acting - except for the four little girls who were just great. The actresses are real-life sisters Dahlia Reed, Violet Reed, Lily Reed and Rosalie Reed, and they keep their real names in this movie. So, not much in terms of acting, and some poor dialogs. But camera work is good, and blood specal effects really deliver.

It's nuts, and it's fun.

I actually liked this movie. The girls acted well enough especially Rosie. The storyline was intriguing. Nice ending. Watch it! Its not boring at all.

Children mistake parents sex for a violent attack on their mother and seek revenge. It would work in the 1990's with much changed direction, however in an age where 90% of porn is advertised to be violent, what this movie does is condone it, mix sex scenes with children playing, and make the children ultra violent as if it's funny. The man is then victimised like a cartoon character who only makes mistakes.

What the movie needs to do is highlight the problem by turning (once normal people) violent in the bedroom, including sick grinning, then show the effect on children outside the room and follow them as the new heros. The police can then sit them down and do word association tests about what family means, and what enemies mean...