The premise may not be too original (a group of youngsters camp in the woods and are besieged by an unknown sadistic force), but the script accounts for an interesting twist to the conventions of the genre: the group doesn't consist of the usual bunch of horny teens, but of young children of around ten or eleven years old.
The movie is extremely atmospheric with fine and effective photography, the young children act surprisingly natural (with special mention of Maurice Luijten as the main character Sam), the pace is high and there are lots of nasty killings, very convincingly done. At several places (and especially at the ending) this movie has also a message, like: even the ones from who you expect it the least can be brought to the edge of their civilized behavior and beyond. In that respect The Lord of the Flies comes to mind: like there, director Jonas Govaerts does not hold back on account of the unwritten movie-law that you better not mess with little children, they are fully involved in the brutal goings-on, as victims as well as culprits, and this has more than once a very chilling and unsettling effect.
At the end of the movie you get kind of overwhelmed and exhausted by all the excitement and violence, it's as if the makers couldn't choose between different scenario's and decided to just use all ideas together, it really is a bit too much! But otherwise: a very nice and effective movie, I was greatly entertained.
The movie is extremely atmospheric with fine and effective photography, the young children act surprisingly natural (with special mention of Maurice Luijten as the main character Sam), the pace is high and there are lots of nasty killings, very convincingly done. At several places (and especially at the ending) this movie has also a message, like: even the ones from who you expect it the least can be brought to the edge of their civilized behavior and beyond. In that respect The Lord of the Flies comes to mind: like there, director Jonas Govaerts does not hold back on account of the unwritten movie-law that you better not mess with little children, they are fully involved in the brutal goings-on, as victims as well as culprits, and this has more than once a very chilling and unsettling effect.
At the end of the movie you get kind of overwhelmed and exhausted by all the excitement and violence, it's as if the makers couldn't choose between different scenario's and decided to just use all ideas together, it really is a bit too much! But otherwise: a very nice and effective movie, I was greatly entertained.