Children of Sorrow

Desperate to discover what has become of her sister, Ellen (Hannah Levien) infiltrates Simon Leach's (Bill Oberst Jr.) cult. All she knows is that her sister was last seen joining his group in order to find herself, only to go missing after joining. Ellen is welcomed with open arms and although her initial intent is to search for her sister, she finds herself drawn to Simon's magnetic personality and message of love and acceptance. However what she soon discovers is that she, along with all of the cult's companionship-hungry members, are being manipulated to a more sinister and dark end than she could have predicted. Somewhat saved by a superb and haunting performance by Jaquelyn Johnson as Tracey. She is clearly destined for bigger and better roles.

I was anticipating "Children of Sorrows" to be watchable, to say the least. I did not have any high expectations.

After 30 minutes i switched it off. The storyline was so confused and unstructured. It left one trying to interpret what the hell was happening. Sure, a girl goes looking for her sister in a cult, but there is not real background story.

Nor was there any explanation as to why the cult leader was so obsessed with having to film everything.

There was also a jump in the protagonist's video diary. We are at "Day 2" and then all of a sudden we are at "Day 7"! What happened to the other 4 days?

The whole movie was poorly thought out. The concept may have actually worked if the makers of this movie put more effort thinking about the execution.

Overall, do not waste your time watching this! It is so poorly thought out, with no storyline or structure!

I disagree with the negative reviews about this film. Children Of Sorrow is definitely not for the faint of heart. The film is a slow burner, but deeply gets inside your head and stays there. I just watched this film last night but I found myself thinking about how disturbing it was all day today. Children Of Sorrow successfully blends many genre techniques The Camera work is done in the "found footage" stylization which lends an intentionally uncomfortable reality to the experience. At times Children Of Sorrow lends itself towards the Slasher and Gore Film Genres, yet maintains an eerie psychological feel. It also had a tone of social commentary dealing with religion and social fears. The performances are good but the sociapathic Father Simon character portrayed brilliantly by Bill Oberst Jr. is haunting and psychologically disturbing. I admit at times certain parts were somewhat confusing and hard to follow. But as a whole I thought this was a very good Horror Film. One of the best to come out this year.

2 it is! The perfect grade for this movie! Why, you ask? Well, let's see, the subject is horrible, overly used, and executed not in a horror like style, but torture porn. The acting is let's say somehow acceptable, a little over half of the movie nothing happens, sure, they may have tried to build some character depth, but I think it ultimately failed, cause you don't really get to feel much for anyone. Just hate the main one and move on.

So yeah, I guess the movie has one solid performance, as you do get to hate the main actor, but it could also happen cause the movie is so bad and he is the face that appears the most, so making a bound between these two, you end up hating the movie, the always there face and voice and the fact that you wasted your time on a movie called "Children of Sorrow"!.

What can I say? Bad choice...these things happen. But hey, you live and learn right. Anyway, don't let others make the same mistake. Warn people. Absolutely nothing to see here, stay away! Far far away! The movie takes place in a desert. So just leave it there!

A group of distraught teenagers are lured to a "get better camp" by a self proclaimed pastor/counsellor who has a hidden agenda.

These teenagers have been majorly messed over so their minds are easily manipulated. The controlled diet and fears being preyed on play a factor as well.

This is one of those movies where everything happens in the last few minutes. Done in found footage fashion although it would have been scarier if you didn't see Simon's face(the cult leader).

I felt like I was at an 80 minute AA meeting the way they do the taped interviews and group interactions.

Unfortunately you have to pay attention to the boring first 80 minutes because subtle things and quick scenes put together the crux of his madness.

If you don't mind going up a steep hill for 80 minutes to have an 8 minute ride then you'll like this movie. But if you want action and fast forget it.

No one boldly goes where no ones gone before, but you won't mind it. Be warned though you have to watch a man with a semi use a desk drawer to reach climax.