SUFFER, LITTLE CHILDREN (1983) Directed by Alan Briggs
Bootleg City, USA VHS (by way of DVD-R)
THE FILM
We are in England. We are in a house that is being used as a home for orphaned children. Maurice (Morris) and the lady (who I think was also named Maurice) take care of all the kids. One day, a little girl named Elizabeth shows up on their doorstep. She can't speak. And, she has a strange glint in her eye. Bad stuff begins to happen.
As far as I can figure, the folks at Meg Shanks Acting School decided to make a movie. A direct-to-video movie. Maybe to make some money for the school. Maybe to allow folks a chance to act. Maybe to get their name out there. They chose horror. In 1984, who wouldn't? So, they wrote their script, assembled the cast and shot and shot.
The movie is 74 minutes long and there are a few moments when it does drag. When there seems to be nothing happening or when folks are chatting and you can't hear them over the roar of the kids, you'd be forgiven for turning it off. But, hold on a bit.
This is not a great film. It's amateurish in the extreme but...it is entertaining. The last 15 minutes, in particular, enter a strange strobe-light area filled with gore and Action Jesus that ends everything on a really odd note.
I thought I'd really dislike this. I thought I'd be bored silly. And, there are moments, when it almost lost me. The “6 children almost drowned” scene not actually happening, just explained after the fact, was not so great. And, some of the use of overlapping sound and dialog took me out of the film for a bit as I wondered if it was intentional or not. But, at the end, I liked it.
Suffer, Little Children (yes, there is a title song) is short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome. There is just enough weird stuff going on to make it worth a viewing. Although not quite enough weird stuff to make a very long review.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Pretty bad. It probably started off poor but the numerous VHS generations it's gone through before it reached me have helped no one. The picture is hazy and jumpy and sometimes tough to see. The audio is muffled and a bit on the rough side. Also, the DVD-R I watched had a bunch of light jumps in it that seemed to be from a previous copy. The film is so rare, though, that I was only slightly distracted. It's watchable.
EXTRAS
Suffer, suffer, suffer little children!
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you can get past the worn look of the film, Suffer, Little Children has its charms. It's a little dull but, it's also SOV and it's from 1984. If you're a fan of this sort of thing, like me, you know you have to watch it.
One thing: The film is set in North Malden. Isn't that where Njorl's Saga took place?
— Dan Budnik, 01.24.08 | 
Calling Meg Shanks
"Check out my tiger."
Suffergettes
Christ, Inc.
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