Who Can Kill a Child?
August 2007 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Dark Sky Films is a company that seeks to bring little-known horror and film-noir cult favorites to DVD. This little, offending gem certainly fills the bill. Made in Spain in 1976, Who Can Kill a Child? was heavily censored and cut for its American release, and its eerie title was replaced with Island of the Damned, no doubt a nod to 1960's Village of the Damned, since both films are populated by murderous children. The Village kids were born of mothers who had been impregnated after a strange blackout in the English village where it is set. In the book by Juan Jose Plans on which Who Can Kill A Child? is based, the kids on the island where the action happens are transformed by a yellow powder that falls on them.

In the movie, there is no such powder, and there is no blackout. The director attempts to tell us why the kids go on a killing spree by showing us graphic black-and-white newsreel shots, interspersed with the opening credits, which depict events where many children were brutalized. The Nazi concentration camps, the war between India and Pakistan, the Korean War, the civil war in Nigeria, and the war in Indo-China provide archival footage that many will find difficult to watch. This seems to set up an eye-for-an-eye message: We have always been the victims. You did this to us, and now we will do it to you.

After the opening credits, we move to 1976, which is shot in eye-popping color. There we meet a man and his pregnant wife who are on vacation. Because all the mainland hotels are booked, they journey to a nearby island off the Spanish coast. This place was obviously a prosperous resort in the past, but now the couple finds it devoid of any adults. All they see are happy, playful children. Director Serrador builds lump-in-your-throat suspense, as we gradually discover that these innocents have murdered the adult population. How? Why didn’t the adults fight? Because, as the title clearly indicates, no one can shoot a child.

The rest is best left to the viewer to discover as the story unfolds. It does so here in a very good transfer of the original uncensored print. As mentioned, the colors are exceptionally bright. There are few gloomy corridors or shadows here; the action is made more horrific by being played against a sunny background. The couple ends up in a restaurant that has a multicolored entranceway bamboo curtain that has such rich color it immediately reminds one of the familiar SMPTE color-bar pattern. The sound is average mono for the period, but it’s robust and works quite well for this movie.

The extras are few but excellent. One contains an interview with the movie’s cinematographer, José Luis Alcaine. He sheds light on the film’s production. One of the most interesting bits is that the film was shot in four different locations, so it was a challenge to make them all have the same color saturation. A second interview is with director Serrador, who divulges his thoughts on children as victims seeking revenge, and lets us in on some tidbits, such as Anthony Hopkins being considered for the lead role. The extras are wrapped up by a moderately extensive still-frame gallery of poster art and lobby-card photos.

This movie will not be for everyone. It is creepy in both the usual indie-horror way and its social indictments. Be aware that the hero finds he can kill a child, but by the time he gets to that you might be cheering for him. Still, some of the images might be disturbing. If you can keep an open mind, you will find this movie a scary, entertaining ride, and a superb example of low-budget filmmaking at its best.

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