Come Out and Play

(2012) **1/2

This is a remake of the better titled 1975 film Who Could Kill a Child?, which Catfreeek raved about earlier this month. I haven’t seen that one yet but from what I’ve gathered it packs a much bigger punch than this version.

While vacationing in Mexico, Francisco and his very pregnant wife Beth rent a boat for the day and head off to a remote island known as Punta Hueca. Upon arrival they can’t help but notice that the island is inhabited only by children. You probably don’t need me to connect the dots here. Yes, this is another story involving murderous children a la Children of the Corn. No, that didn’t bother me in the slightest because I rather enjoy those types of movies.

The build is slow and somewhat tedious. It takes over 30 minutes before Francisco discovers the first adult, a feeble elderly man in the unfortunate position of being repeatedly battered by a young girl with a wooden cane. From here on out it becomes a rollercoaster ride where the protagonists’ only objective is to make it off the island alive. Francisco shoos the girl away but by the time he returns with medical supplies, the poor old bastard has been dragged around, beaten and stoned to death by a mob of L’il Bastards.

The only clues for an explanation of the mayhem is provided by the next doomed-to-die adult they encounter, who relates that the children on the island all awoke at the same time in the middle of the night and started a murder spree.

I can’t give Come Out and Play more than a tepid endorsement because it does little more than recycle old ideas. At first it’s hard to swallow the notion of these children posing such a deadly threat but their sheer numbers and fearless, almost rabid behavior soon convinced me. If you do give it a shot then I would advise sticking around for the intense climactic showdown.