Les enfants des ténèbres

Children of the Night (1991) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows two young women excited about their bright future and leaving their small town. Before departing, they take one last swim in their local creek, but when a necklace falls to the creek bed, it awakens undead vampires. The creatures rise, wreak havoc on the town, and go on a deadly rampage. Can those responsible for their return find a way to put them back to rest?

This film is directed by Tony Randel (Ticks) and stars Karen Black (House of 1,000 Corpses), Garrett Morris (Cooley High), Peter DeLuise (21 Jump Street), Ami Dolenz (Can't Buy Me Love), and Maya McLaughlin (Never Been Kissed).

Watching this was a mixed experience. The settings, backdrops, and lighting were solid, creating an atmospheric feel. At times, the horror elements, visuals, and storyline even reminded me of Nightbreed. The special effects, kills, and gore stood out in several scenes. However, the storyline felt contrived, and the acting and dialogue were inconsistent and often frustrating. The comedic elements were corny and fell flat, detracting from the overall tone.

In conclusion, Children of the Night had the potential to be a strong addition to the horror genre with its promising elements, but weak writing and uneven performances hold it back. I would score this a 5.5/10.

I can recommend this movie as it is just a classical vampire movie containing nothing new. Thus this movie makes nothing wrong and due to it's predictability you can relax and have fun. Besides: my girl friend was unable to eat while this movie was running :-)

This movie is a typical B movie..but what they do with the "normal" legend of vampires. For one the vampire use water as their coffin instead of an actual one, once under water they spit out their lungs and breaths the water. In one scene this women vamp made her own cocoon to sleep in the special effects are really good in this scene. Its a cheap movie but its fun....its a saturday night kind of flick!!

A man helps a teenage girl who claims she just escaped from the clutches of her grandmother who was holding her hostage at her own house. Believing the young girl, he tries to help her out, but soon realizes that just about all of the town's citizens are vampires and that the love of his life (Karen Black) is a vampire as well.

Salem's Lot clone still manages to be original and entertaining. The cast turns in performances that surpass expectations, and the effects are rather creative. Atmospheric, funny, and exciting film is highly underrated and definaitely worth a look.

Rated R; Graphic Violence, Sexual Situations, and Profanity.

In the quiet town of Allburg, USA, Lucy Barret (Ami Dolenz) and her grandmother Hillary Barret (Shirley Spiegler Jacobs) welcome Lucy's friend Cindy Thompson (Maya McLaughlin), who lives with her mother Karen Thompson (Karen Black) in River Junction and will spend a couple of days with Lucy. Cindy invites Lucy to go to swim in the crypt of the church on the Cherry Street, in River Junction, in a weird ritual. When the teenagers are swimming, an evil creature is revived and attacks Cindy.

Later, in River Junction, Father Frank Alden (Evan MacKenzie) summons his friend and school teacher Mark Gardner (Peter DeLuise) and shows Cindy and Karen locked in a room turned into vampires. Father Alden asks Mark to travel to Allburg to find the source of vampirism.

Mark arrives late night at Hillary's house and he finds that Lucy is trapped in her room since her grandmother has also turned into a vampire. Soon Mark and Lucy learn that the locals of Allburg has turned into vampires by the ancient vampire Czakyr, who is thirsty of the virgin blood of Lucy, and the only chance to save the dwellers is destroying the powerful vampire.

"Children of the Night" is a funny vampire movie, with a weird story that combines horror and comedy and released in Brazil only on VHS. The result is uneven but entertains in many moments with funny situations. Who in the hell would bath in a crypt with corpses like the two teenagers do in the beginning of the story? And the grandma removing her denture and showing rotten vampire canines? I could list many bizarre and hilarious situations but better off watching this flick. I saw for the first time on 15 November 2000 and today I decided to watch it again. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Crianças da Noite" ("Children of the Night")

Note: On 17 December 2021, I saw this film again.