Children of Sorrow (2012)

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.

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.

After Dark are a very solid hit/miss movie production company, and with this movie they have swung hard on a solid miss. Everything is there for a good psychological thriller, but too many of the situations are forced, and never completely explained. A great over all cast of players, but the characters they are given just don't show their real motivations, and the abused among them never seem to even flinch at the new abuses that are now piled on to them from their new Father, or the family around them at his direction. This writing is slappy, and silly most of the time, and the rest of the time it just feels like the cast were expected to Improv the meat of the story themselves. I did not really Enjoy this movie, it is the wrong kind of creepy, and even though it is evil from the start, and you do get a new sort of pregame kind of strangely edited in scenes of the work done before the flock arrive to set up the compound just how they need it(including killing the original occupants it would seem). You are given an ending though it comes too quickly, and there I personally was not convinced that these people would all have been that willing to die after only being there 40 days. This is not a very Enjoyable movie, there is just too much left unseen, and the sexual predation of the Father is too much, perhaps if we had been shown some form of drugs being used to mess up the minds of the flock I would have found it more convincing. I do not recommend this movie even to thriller junkies, it is long, and boring, and though it can be quite disturbing, it does not really go deep enough.

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.