Review: Blessed Are the Children

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018
Images from the Internet

Blessed Are the Children
Written, produced and directed by Chris Moore
CWM Entertainment / Wild Eye Releasing / MVD Entertainment
98 minutes, 2016 / 2018
www.facebook.com/childrenareblessed
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.mvdb2b.com

Drive by a hospital at the right time and you’ll probably see a group of “pro-life” protesters with posters of dead babies and maybe even signs indicating eternal damnation for those who use any services by the likes of Planned Parenthood. Those people are delusional and can be dangerous. In our story here, there are guys in red jackets and odd baby masks who are… well, let’s say haunting the story. One carries a sign that states “God Hates You,” so you know the type.



Kaley Ball

Meanwhile, Traci (Kaley Ball), who has zero taste in men (we meet her physically abusive ex-fiancé and current self-centered tool), finds herself in the family way, and decides to go and get this taken care of with the help of her two besties and roommates, 26-year-old virgin Erin (cute Arian Thigpen) and lesbian Mandy (Keni Bounds), both of whom are key players in the story.

The trio are followed by these anti-abortion fanatics who apparently also find abominations in fornication and homosexuality, so everyone is up for grabs. Or, in this case, stabs, as long and sharp objects seem to be the murder object du jour.

The baby masked killers never speak and seemingly not to be seen unless they want. Religious fanatical killers or supernatural religious fanatical killers? We find out by the end. Perfect film for a Christmas morning, as this is not as far-fetched a story as one might think when one considered those who bomb health clinics, or murder doctors and nurses, all of which happens in real life.

While the film focuses on the three main characters, there are enough peripheral ones (boyfriends, etc.) to make this a nice and gruesome mostly appliance filled SFX gore fest. As I said, lots of vorpal blades going snicker-snack, through and through. The SFX is excellent with just the right amount of gore and yet not too clinical.



Arian Thigpen

To add to the fun, there are lots of cultural references, some of which are now obscure, such as one of the trio calling another a “Sugarbaker” after a rant. This always adds to the fun, in my opinion. Also, the director gives himself an indirect Hickcockian cameo, which works out well as he seems to use more than one of Alfred’s methods of surprise (that I won’t give away). Let’s just say the character name Mandy Crane is kind of a clue of influence.

Acting-wise, the cast does okay, with some fine moments here and there. Especially noteworthy to me were those bits with Erin and Steve (Michael Kinslow), which is the closest to comedy relief as comes here. Nearly the entire cast will be coming back in Chris Moore’s next film (which I am hoping to see), Triggered, due out in 2019.



Keni Bounds

The extras are bountiful for a DVD, such as the 0:39 “Extended Ending.” It’s just second long, but I can see how both work, and I’m assuming it was a tough choice by the director. Next is called “Just a Dream” at 2:13, which is a superfluous deleted scene, as is the 6:20 “Prologue.” While some of the latter’s themes are incorporated into the main feature with different characters, it’s worth a watch post-screening thanks to some nice SFX.

Then there is the official “Deleted Scenes” collection at 32:58, nearly all of which was right to take out, though the occasional different takes on a murder, for example, kept me from losing interest. The “Gag Reel” is 13:04 filled mostly with short bits that are humorous, but not really noteworthy. There are also three trailers, which is kind of short for a Wild Eye Releasing – err – release, but enjoyable; one of the trio is for this film.

Then there is the Director’s Commentary, which I looked forward to hearing after seeing the film (never, ever listen to the commentary before seeing the feature in normal mode!), and in this case, rightfully so as Moore spins his takes on particular scenes, anecdotes, and nothing too technical (other than tech geeks, who I respect wholeheartedly, I don’t care what kind of camera or film ratio is used). I want to know motivation and stories about the filming. Moore isn’t afraid to admit that there are certain parts of the piece he’s ambivalent about, for example. Worth a watch if you like the behind the scene stories and which bit was influenced from what film (though not the ones I mentioned earlier, which seems pretty obvious, but perhaps it was more subliminal?).

Believe it or not, this is not the first aborted baby revenge pic I’ve had the pleasure to review. The first was an over-the-top broad comedy from 2012 called Zombie Babies (reviewed HERE). But I digress…