Darkness

This movie was pretty bad and took alot of effort to sit through. It's based on the book Virgin by James Patterson but only very loosely (the book is much better). As i understand it, this was originally a made for cable (USA network) movie..which explains alot. Not only was the plot pretty ridiculous, but i..being Catholic..found many of the scenes offensive. The premise sounds great (sort of a combination of Rosemary's Baby and The Omen) but the acting and the story were laughable. The only reason i sat through until the end was because i had read the book and wanted to see how far the movie deviated from the book. It deviated alot...and not in a good way.

Child of Darkness, Child of Light is a TV horror movie that doesn't appear to have a very good reputation. I cannot go along with the negativity though, as I think this is a pretty decent effort overall. It is a religious themed horror movie that focuses on that old staple of the genre – the birth of the Antichrist. Except there is a twist here in that there are not one but two virgin births, both of which have been prophesied to spawn not only the Antichrist but the Christ as well. A priest is sent by the Vatican to try and determine which is which.

It's pretty obviously a television production in fairness, with obvious restrictions in place regarding the content. But equally, the TV production values ensure that it's professionally made and solid on the whole. The storyline is well enough handled, with decent pacing. There are also some well-staged scenes and surprises along the way. The cast has a few familiar faces such as Brad 'Midnight Express' Davis as a doctor, not long before his untimely death and a blink-and-you'll-miss him appearance by future star Brendan Fraser. All-in-all, this is more than decent for a TV horror film; if you go into it with realistic expectations it should entertain you.

Two women get pregent at the same time. Problem is both of them are virgins. One will give birth to the child of God. The other one will give birth to the child of Satan. A made for TV movie that is exactly like every other TV movie. It's dull, bland and of course features a familiar face or two in the cast. It isn't really all that bad, but it isn't much of anything either. Pity.

Rated PG-13; Violence.

CHILD OF DARKNESS, CHILD OF LIGHT has an intriguing title but turns out to be a completely pointless TV movie that readily copies the likes of THE OMEN alongside ROSEMARY'S BABY. The storyline sees a priest investigating a prophecy which tells of two births: one child will be good, one evil, and he has to figure out which is which.

The movie plays out low-key for the most part, at least until the very silly ending, and this makes it a real bore to sit through. The problem with religious-themed films is that the characters are often boring and that's the case with the protagonists here. It says something that TV veteran Sela Ward (THE STEPFATHER) ends up playing the most interesting person in it, and that's hardly saying much.

There is the potential for interest here and there, with allusions to Biblical plagues and the like, but sadly these are kept off-screen for the most part in favour of the dullish detective story. Perhaps better actors would have improved this, but I doubt it; some nice location shots are all you're going to find here. Otherwise, it's completely underwhelming.

Child of Darkness, Child of Light: Not one but two Immaculate Conceptions! One will be The Second Coming, the other The Antichrist! But which is which? The Vatican sends a priest to investigate. There is also have a Prophecy of The Virgin Mary which is only incrementally revealed. Teenage bullies, vicious crows, black clad assassins on motorbikes! Even a friendly pet dog is turned savage by the powers of darkness. Not great but considering that it's a TV movie from 1991 not bad either. Entertaining and worth watching. Showing again on the Horror Channel on Monday 4th January at 11.00 AM. 6/10.