


#Prodigy movie serial
Was he simply a "bad seed" kind of young psychopath? Was he possessed by a demon, or otherwise influenced by a supernatural creature? The answer turned out to be no, instead, Miles was the reincarnation of a brutal serial killer named Edward Scarka, who was shot to death by police mere minutes before Miles' birth.Ĭomplicating things is that Miles is actually still his own person with an independent soul, and tries to fight off Edward's spirit when he takes over his body, but isn't strong enough. In a very smart move, The Prodigy's marketing completely avoided giving away what the problem actually was with Miles, played by IT's Georgie, Jackson Robert Scott.

How The Prodigy's Big Twist Put a Dark Spin on Possession Movies What happened to Miles is a truly novel circumstance, and one that only adds to The Prodigy's sense of despair. Related: 10 Best Horror Movies Featuring Creepy KidsĪnother aspect that set The Prodigy apart is its central plot twist concerning why exactly Miles seems less and less in control of his actions as the film progresses. Almost nothing ends well, and by the end, it feels like Miles Blume and his mother Sarah's tragic fates were simply inevitable, with every attempt Sarah made at saving her son from his rising darkness being essentially a waste of time. While The Prodigy didn't set out to reinvent the wheel when it comes to killer kids, one of the things that did help set it apart from the pack is just how relentlessly downbeat it is. Since then, dozens and dozens of horror films featuring evil tykes have bee produced, some great, some good, and some best left forgotten. The horror genre has a long, strange history with movies about murderous children, with the original codifier of the killer kid sub-genre probably being 1956's The Bad Seed, starring Patty McCormack as a young girl with a taste for homicide. As a new mother grappling with the changes that come along with normal parenthood, fighting to keep her marriage feeling normal, and then placed in an impossible situation while she unravels the mystery of what is actually wrong with her son, Schilling embodies the role.The Prodigy was advertised as being a fairly standard "killer kid" movie, but the truth behind Miles' possession is unexpectedly dark and unique. Schilling’s performance impresses, as well. If nothing else, go see The Prodigy just for this incredible young actor. He nails the creepy staring, dialogue delivery, and intense violence of a killer while at the same time balancing that with your typical eight-year-old boy. It is difficult to imagine many adult actors being able to achieve the duplicity that Scott does. Even so, the tension in every scene is palpable thanks to Scott, who manages to flip between an innocent eight-year-old boy and a seasoned murderer with incredible ease. The audience knows almost immediately what exactly is wrong with Miles, and it is no surprise to discover that no matter what Sarah’s desperate plans may be to save her son, there is little hope to be found in her situation. However, the mystery of Miles’ unwanted inhabitant is revealed within the film’s first few scenes. The graphic violence is a bit gratuitous at times, but smart cinematography choices make most of the film’s goriest moments feel like necessary parts of the story. With drawn out sequences backed by Jospeh Bishara’s minimalist, eerie score, Miles’ rapid takeover turns up the scare factor. The scene from the film’s initial-now infamous-trailer is enough to make even the most hardened Horror fan fly out of a seat. The film’s initial tagline question (“What’s wrong with Miles?”) is answered early on, that does not necessarily stop the scares from hitting home. When Arthur Jacobson (Colm Feore: House of Cards series, Chicago series) explains to Sarah that rather than having your run-of-the-mill developmental issues, Miles’ may actually be experiencing something more sinister and supernatural. The young genius is sent to special schools and beloved by his parents until Miles begins to exhibit disturbing character traits like attempting to lure his babysitter into a basement in order to maim her, beating a classmate when Miles does not get his way, or speaking Hungarian in his sleep. When they finally welcome their first son, Miles, into their lives, the young couple is thrilled to find that Miles blows past developmental milestones. Sarah (Schilling) and her husband John (Peter Mooney: Rookie Blue series) tried to start a family for years.
