Children of the Grave

Anyone watching this movie in the hope of some fascinating insights into the world of the paranormal investigator or perhaps just for a few scares is going to be sorely disappointed.

If the intent of the filmmakers was to convince us that the EVP recordings, photographs and video footage were real they did a very poor job. The editing jumped all over the place, at first I thought it was just going to be like that at the start of the film and then it would get down to the proper investigations, but sadly it continued right up to the last minute.

There was not one moment when I was even vaguely convinced any of the footage was of a real supernatural event, they jump cut so quick you were left feeling like they were trying to hide something, interspersing it with staged footage of little children and dramatic or heavy metal music took you further away from feeling like this was a serious documentary.

If they wanted to make a point they needed to slow down, focus on one happening at a time, show us the footage of things actually happening - not just say something happened.

Overall the whole thing pretty much bored me, there wasn't even a hint that this could actually be a real investigation and at no point did it stay still long enough for you to actually get creeped out.

Children of the Grave did seem interesting, so I checked it out, and if I were to be honest I am still not entirely sure what to make of it. Sure it is reasonably entertaining, with a resolutely creepy atmosphere particularly in the Zombie Road segment, great shots of the graveyard and buildings, the whole orphanage/lost children idea was interesting and did make me emotional thinking about it and reasonably convincing child actors. On the other hand, there were a number of times where I didn't buy the "evidence"'s credibility(especially the supposed ghost evidence), coming across as vague, the editing jumps around all over the place, there are scenes that felt like overlong filler rather than evidence and the music is overbearing. All in all, not a bad way to pass the time I suppose, but I am still perplexed as to what I actually think of Children of the Grave. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Riiight, at one point, they read an "actual letter" supposedly written by a child orphan.

In that you have sentences like "Little did I know"... something along the lines of "I didn't know this great country had its own concentration camps".

Quite elaborate and cultivated for an orphan... child... many many years ago. They had good history and English language lessons in those orphanages!

That was around the middle of the movie. I would have quit watching it earlier if I had something better to do, but had done my share of Youtube that day already, and needed to watch something longer than 45 seconds. But after this very bad mistake of the "actual letter" I completely disconnected.

These directors know nothing about movies or even about how to make a constructive, credible narrative. Also, they are not objective.

I think this would be better classified as a MOCKUMENTARY, if it was this bad on purpose.

I had hoped that the Booth Brothers would have matured as film makers, and ceased depending on cheap theatrics, constant "scary" and quick cuts, since Spooked. They haven't. I'm upset that I'll never get that time back, as it was wasted. I could have spent the time watching paint dry, and been far more entertained.

The investigations shown are minimally sound. This could be due to the poor editing, but I think it's a combination of bad editing and poor investigative process. These are supposed to be "experts" but there is nothing cutting edge, progressive or redeeming in regards to the investigative techniques. The use of child actors was unnecessary. Most of the evp's I would never present as evidence of any kind, as they are just too ambiguous and indistinct. And what is the deal with the pseudo-commandos of PTF/MPR. No one is going to take a 350 pound wanna-be ghost commando seriously.

The Booth Brothers need to get back into the porn industry, it's apparent that they have no talent filming a documentary of any kind. Value your time. It would be better spent watching Pee Wee Herman.

What happened to this film on DVD/Streaming in the USA? Anyone know? Where can it be purchased? It is an amazing combo of historical documentary and paranormal investigating. If you like either, or both, it's unparalleled. Devoted to the many many thousands of orphans who died in 'orphan asylums' in late 19th-early 20th centuries. Their story is told in a touching, sympathetic way and is not at all exploiting, as are many TV paranormal shows. Great music, photography. Great. But it has been yanked from N American distribution in 2016 and I cannot* find a single DVD or a streaming service in 2017 :-( Spooked Productions will not respond. If you find it, let us all know! A+ for the genre.