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This B-grade horror flick has some surprising special effects, and a completely predictable twist ending. When a school bus drives into the fog from a nuclear plant leak, the children inside are transformed into black-fingernailed zombies that incinerate anyone they touch, apparently from the inside-out. My fondness for this movie probably stems from the circumstances in which I saw it--I was 12 or 13, alone in front of the TV at my sister's house at around 2 AM,watching a "rated R movie(!)" I had been expressly forbidden to see. I'm not sure whether I was more afraid of the movie or an adult catching me, but either way, it was good fun. I'm looking forward to the day this one is finally released on DVD.

I saw this when I was five years old--my parents were oddly fine with letting me watch any horror flick I wanted. This has had some long-lasting issues, to say the least.

My memory of the movie is a bit hazy. I've described it to many people over the years, searching for someone who knew the title. Alas, no one ever recognized it. Never thought to search it online (one of those things, I guess) until now. I remembered the poisonous fog, the school bus, and the burning hands of the children. Unfortunately, my memory also included purple hamburger-like patties in the palms of the children's hands--the source of their awesome burning power. Strange what you think you remember.

Back on point, awesome awful nonsensical horror film of the 80's.

A school bus drives through a radioactive fog (the result of a leak at the local nuclear power plant), turning the young passengers into black-finger-nailed zombies with a deadly, corrosive touch.

Having seen my fair share of 'killer kiddie' horror, I've come to the conclusion that it is extremely hard to make minors scary: it's unusual for children to possess the necessary acting chops to appear genuinely dangerous. The Children (of Ravensback) does little to alter my opinion that murderous movie moppets are rarely effective, but it does have a great premise, one that could work well as a remake, so long as a talented director is calling the shots and the casting goes beyond hiring the producer's children.

To be fair, this film isn't unwatchable, thanks to quite a few gruesome deaths, a willingness to kill off anyone, no matter how young, and a feeling that everyone involved was at least trying their best to create something entertaining (the cast might not be Oscar winners, but they're likeable). When the terrible tykes grab hold of someone, it causes the skin to blister and burn, which leads to some fun make-up effects, and respect is due for inflicting such a painful death on two unlikely victims: pretty farmer's daughter Suzie (Joy Glaccum) and little kid Clarkie (Jessie Abrams). I honestly didn't expect either one to die.

I also admire the fact that there wasn't what I would call a happy ending -- no antidote is found for the children -- the only way to deal with the problem being to hack off their hands, killing them in the process. The dismembered remains of several kids are shown in the aftermath.

Bonus marks too for the bizarre scene in which the town sheriff visits influential citizen Dee Dee Shore (Rita Montone), who nonchalantly sparks up a doobie in front of the cop while her partner Jackson Lane (John P. Codiglia) pumps iron by the pool, and for a subsequent scene in which millionaire Sanford Butler-Jones (Martin Brennan) persuades Deputy Harry Timmons to let him through a roadblock. Neither moment has any real bearing on the plot and one wonders what purpose they serve (although Brennan was apparently a drug dealer who supplied coke to the cast and crew, which might answer that query).

I will, however, deduct those marks for several reasons: Harry Manfredini's score is extremely derivative, borrowing heavily from Psycho, Jaws, Halloween, and even the composer's own music for Friday the 13th; the predictable 'twist' ending is lame; and the scene in which deadly youngster Paul (Jeptha Evans) scratches at the window of poor little Clarkie, waiting to be let in, is ripped off from Salem's Lot. Did they really think we wouldn't notice?

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

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.

I wanted to see this movie in 1980 when it first came out and couldn't. When I saw that it was coming to DVD I got really excited. I finally watched it last weekend. I couldn't believe that I had waited 26 years to see such a bad movie. The premise is great-a radioactive cloud turns children into zombies, but the acting and directing bring the film down. Towards the end it just becomes silly. There was a little nudity and some gore. The effects are horrible. There wasn't a single scene that was scary. There is a "surprise ending", but any horror fan can see it coming a mile away. Overall the movie is a waste of time. I did chuckle when the pregnant lady lit a cigarette, patted her stomach and said "I'm sorry" to her unborn baby.

I remember seeing The Children when it first came out around 1980...Even back then it was cheesy to say the least...It tries to be creepy in the way Village of the Damned was, but fails miserably...The acting is pretty bad and I actually remember having a great time because of it...I can't give it just 1 star because it's too entertaining a movie to fall into the "awful" category...those black fingernails on the kids...the hugs that produce that nuclear smoke, and the hysterical reactions of the adults they hug make this movie a baddie classic...look for my favorite bad acting line in the movie..."Sheriff you shot a dead dog!" 1980 winner of the Ed Wood entertainment film award in my book!

I remember seeing the previews for this movie on TV when I was a kid back in the 80's. Funny thing is it always stuck with me and I had been wanting to see this movie ever since. Well, I recently went to a film festival of bad movies and The Children was one of them. I was very excited to see it. I was not disappointed. This movie is fast paced, and fun. Don't get me wrong, it is a bad movie, but a good, fun movie. What really helped the movie was the score, which was composed by Harry Manfredini who also scored that little old film Friday the 13th. So, the music helped to build some creepiness and suspense. The fact that the movie is about children who become toxic, zombie, killers makes it enjoyable on that level. Just watching the townsfolk trying to stop the children is a hoot. Rarely in films these days do we see children get dispatched on screen. That is something to enjoy. Not the fact that children are being killed but that it is a testament to how times have changed in movie-making.

You can see, it was immensely entertaining for the child actors involved, they could hardly hide their smiles.

Perfect movie for a laundry-folding hour.

I was familiar with the 1980 horror movie "The Children" by title alone, but I have actually never gotten around to watching it before now in 2024, as I happened to have the opportunity to sit down and do so digitally.

Initially I was a bit concerned when I saw that it was a Troma release, but I still opted to watch the movie and give it the benefit of the doubt. Thankfully, this didn't turn out to be an archetypical Troma goofy movie.

The storyline in "The Children", as written by Carlton J. Albright and Edward Terry, was definitely a very different take on a zombie movie. Not that it was a bad one, actually, because there was something enjoyable about the script, storyline and narrative. And that whole early 1980s feel definitely helped to make the movie all the more cheesy and enjoyable.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. But they had a good ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list.

Visually, then "The Children" might have been good back in 1980, but the effects haven't aged well. When you watch it today, the effects come off as very cheesy, amateurish and low budget. But it actually adds to the overall charm of the movie.

My rating of director Max Kalmanowicz's 1980 movie "The Children" lands on a five out of ten stars.

I remember watching this movie with my mom and dad late one night on TBS, and I remember how scary it was for me then. That was back in the mid-80's though, today I think somewhat differently. I rented the movie again a few years ago just to jog my memory of it, because all I really remembered was was it was about some kids who can burn people with their hands. Now that I've rewatched it I can judge as an adult. The movie is a good one for people, like me, who love B horror movies. The premise is laughable, who ever heard of toxic gas creating zombie children who can fry people with their hands and be basically invincible to any weapon? There are obviously a lot of unconceivable premises in this movie, but that's what makes it so good. The children can't be destroyed unless their hands are cut off! Too funny. The weirdest part was the pregnant woman who gave birth after her 2 sons have been killed, and she and the father act as if nothing happened. Anyway, I wouldn't tell anyone to stray from this movie, it is a classic and lots of people are willing to pay big bucks for it just because they remember it as a classic horror movie they liked. The friendship I have now, who is also my best friend, came about over this movie. We were talking about horror movies at work during Halloween, and I brought up this movie and she started talking about how much she liked it when she saw it at the drive-in with her family but for years could not remember the title until shined the light on it for her. This movie has a lot of fans out there, and if you haven't seen it and you see it in the video store, rent it. It's one you won't forget!

Mediocre horror movie. I much prefer the somewhat similar original Village of the Damned, which I first saw no more than a few years ago, I'd guess. I suspect anyone rating The Children of Ravensback in the seven to ten out of ten range must have seen and been scared by it as a child, and their current love for it and any subsequent viewings are fueled by that nostalgia. It certainly deserves a better transfer, if possible (the VHS I saw of it was awfully dark in spots), and a DVD release, if only to satisfy the many people who ask on the I Need to Know and Horror Message Boards "What is that movie with the kids in the school bus who drive through a cloud and turn into zombies with black fingernails that burn people?" This wouldn't be a bad one to remake, either.

This is one of those movies that is like an idiot step-child--it's totally moronic but still strangely hard to dislike. When so many horror movies are so transparently and unimaginatively exploitative, it's refreshing to see a movie so ludicrous and completely off-the-wall that god only knows WHAT it's trying to exploit. Is it trying to prey on every parent's fear that their lovable moppets will turn into radioactive zombies? Is it trying to make an environmental statement about how nuclear waste will turn children's fingernails black and make them kill every adult they touch? Is it trying to impress the gorehounds with its incredible special effects (i.e. dry ice and black fingernail polish)? Someone ought to put this movie, "The Carrier" (1987), and "The Pit" (1982)all on a single DVD compilation and call it "WHAT THE HELL?!..." or something like that. I'd definitely buy it.

I bought the VHS of this as people keep saying how good it is, but feel disappointed. The "idea" behind it sounds cool, but the execution isn't very good. There is no suspense, little gore and little entertainment. There are some fun cheesy moments however such as when the children touch the adults and yellow gas emits from them as they are burnt to a crisp. There's other good moments too such as when we see the adults hacking up the kids, but not enough to hold sustained interest. If better actors had been used, perhaps this film might have worked. We might have actually felt some emotion when the parents are forced to to kill their children. But since the actors are so unconvincing, you don't really feel anything.

After a school bus full of children drives through a toxic mist due to the nearby nuclear power plant, the terrible tykes are turned into black-nailed monster whose mere touch corrodes the flesh of their victims. Local sheriff Billy Hart (Gil Rogers) has to protect the townsfolk from their prepubescent wrath.

The Children isn't a particularly scary film (ie. not at all), but it IS a fun film and can definite scratch any itch you may have for a cult '80's horror flick and sometimes that is enough to recommend a film. OK acting, laughable dialog, hokey special effects, what more do you want? Give this cult classic a try, you'll more then likely to have a good time with it.

Eye Candy: Rita Montone gets topless

My Grade: B-

Gotta love Troma.

You know you are watching a low budget film when you see a nuclear company sign that has been stenciled and the director decides to sometimes use a tape of dog howls when the children are hurt.

The makeup could have been much better - I think even with the limited budget it could have been done more effectively. It put me in mind of horror makeup of the '60s. In addition, the acting throughout was inconsistent - some of the actors did okay, but the ones who didn't were really bad. The ending was so very predictable, made no sense within the context of the movie and was really a huge disappointment. Plot holes abounded and much was left unexplained. It definitely could have been better written. Finally, I wish the kids had a better mechanism for the way they went about their business - going to the adults instead of making them come to the kids.

So why a 3 instead of a 1? It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, not even in my bottom 50. Although there were problems with plot holes, at least people didn't do stupid, inane things (a problem with a lot of horror movies) and the dialog made some level of sense. Some of the acting was passable. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're looking for an eye roller though.

An interesting, cheesy yet fun B-grade horror flick from Troma Entertainment. A school bus full of singing kiddies is swallow by a yellow gas. In turn it transforms these children into little terrors. One hug from one of these kids will fry your skin like a sizzling package of bacon. The zombie-like kids move even slower than a Romero zombie! Well paced, but not sure if it really had enough material to squash into an hour and a half movie.

The music sounds quite familiar from Harry Manfredini. It is reminiscent of FRIDAY THE 13TH. Just don't expect too much from this flick and you might enjoy it.

Legendary Drive in Trash horror film about a school bus full of kids that goes through a chemical cloud and causes them to become black nailed little monsters that melt you if they touch you.

This movie has to be seen to be believed- however be warned the effects aren't good-there are frequent laughably bad death scenes and the film ultimately isn't very good- still somehow there is something about the film that sticks in the memory-that causes anyone who's seen it to say "is that the one with the black nails?". Not a particularly good film but a classic of its type (what ever that is)-though not one I'd really recommend unless you like this sort of thing.

If there was a horror film that had certain nostalgia, you could say "The Children" was one of those cult films you would hear horror fans talking about and explaining how it was a childhood favourite. For me that wasn't the case, as I just watched for the first time, but I found it to be a surprisingly effective little low-budget feature which saw some of the film crew (lead by music composer Harry Manfredini) to go on to be apart of Sean S. Cunningham's 1980 iconic "Friday the 13th".

When a school bus drives through a yellow mist of nuclear waste, a group of children of a rural town go missing, unknowingly to the town's folk they find out they have been transformed into zombies that are aching for a hug. But the results are toxic for whoever encounters them. It's up to the town sheriff to these lurking menaces.

Everything about it is low-grade schlock and it plays out generic, from the acting to its direction, slight story (with a "Night of the Living Dead" vibe), adds ghastly make-up FX, dreary photography and even parts of the writing. But simply put its fun; in a daft, but also deranged and kooky manner. Sometimes humorous and at times unintentional, but still there are moments of gusty exploitation (that's zombie kids being mutilated by swords and axes!), suspense (those kiddie cuddle build-ups) and a constant eeriness (the appearances of the kids). Even the narrative throws a sudden shock twist here and there. The cast do feature some names with a likable Gil Rogers, Martin Shaker in a wooden turn, the very flirtatious Joy Glaccum and an amusing Peter Maloney. The forlorn woodland locations help alienate the horror, while Manfredini's music score is overstated, but not without its moments.

Crazy, offbeat, ultra-cheap, but it's hard to resist these killer kids.

"They'll turn up."

i thought this was a fun little horror classic.as far as i know,it's an original concept.not the zombies themselves,but how they became zombies.and how they kill their victims.it is cheesy and the acting is hammy,but so what.the premise is pretty cool.it's genuinely creepy.i especially love the score by Harry Manfredini,although it's very similar to Friday the 13th(which he also scored)and it does become overpowering and a bit distracting at times.the makeup effects are actually pretty good for the time.and if you're paying attention throughout the movie(which i obviously wasn't)the ending won't come as a surprise to you.overall,an enjoyable 90 minutes or so.for me,The Children(1980)is an 8/10

There's a leak at a nuclear plant and a bus full of the town's children are turned into undead, zombie like mutants whose touch can turn any adult into a puddle of steaming goo. It's a goofy premise and The Children makes the most of it with every member of the cast playing it deathly serious. You have to admire commitment like that. Harry Manfredini's score sometimes sounds like it's made up out of recycled cues from Friday the 13th.

This movie is without a doubt the worst piece of crap I've ever watched. The kids were nowhere near as scary or creepy as I expected them to be. The kills were beyond lame, they seemingly just hug their victims until they turn into overcooked lasagna, they basically walk toward their victims with their arms out while the victims yell "what are you doing" "stop it". Dont get me started on the terrible acting skills of the actors in this movie, just put it like this if you looked up the actors of this movie and see what other movies they made after this movie, their profile will have this movie as the only movie they've ever made, doesn't surprise me not one bit lol. Who approved this mess to ever be released on video? That person deserve a life sentence in the toughest prison in America.

A leak at a nuclear plant releases a toxic cloud that poisons all the kids from Ravensback after their school bus drives through it. The kids end up being like zombies with black fingernails and they cause their parents to melt when they touch them. Jeez, talk about your nuclear family! It is up to Sheriff Billy Hart (Gil Rogers) and local dad John Freemont (Martin Shakar) to stop these radioactive little moppets. I saw this as a kid in the early 1980s and it freaked the hell out of me and my sister. It is such a simple premise (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD KIDS), but the filmmakers pull it off with the creepy kids saying nothing more than "Mommy! Mommy!" or "Daddy! Daddy!" with their arms extended. Also, the method of dispatching them (cutting off their hands) is done really effective and it is rare to see kids the subject of on screen carnage. It is a nice production too, with lots of great rural locations. There are also some really bizarre choices when it comes to the town folk. Harry Manfredini provides a score that sounds exactly like his F13 compositions.