Child Review

“You came here anyway” – Lydia

Here’s a horror film that leaves a lasting impact and raises some large questions. The one that I’ll kick off by trying to respond to is what exactly IS horror? It needn’t be the usual tropes of hockey masked zombies slaughtering horny teens, demonic possession, hauntings, vampires or werewolves. Those are certainly effective and I admit I’ve watched far more than my fair share of them over the last half century. But REAL horror, the visceral, the plausible, the horror that shows us for what we really are – that’s truly frightening, unsettling and uncomfortable. And that discomfort in your mind doesn’t leave when the credits roll. It stays rooted in your mind, conjuring thoughts where you wonder how close to the actual, factual truth a horror film can get while staying within the realm of fiction.

Child is exactly THAT kind of film.

Directed by Cyrus Neshvad and co-written by Neshvad and Guillaume Levil, the question asked is how far would you go to save the life of your child? Would morals get in your way? Or ethics? Or even legality? There are costs that far outweigh the mere financial ones, as Greg (Marek Zidi) and Anne (Brigitte Unhausen) find out in their quest to save the life of their young son Leo (Leo Todesco).

Leo has been the victim of a road accident when Greg took his eyes off him for a moment, and is strangely in a room in the basement of a hospital. His short time is running out, and a guilt-plagued Greg who is a doctor is desperate to save his son’s life. As is Anne, who is about to undertake a journey to save their son’s life by any means necessary. Greg persuades her to let him go along against her wishes.

They have to go across the border from Luxembourg, entering a territory where anything can be bought – for the right price. Even freshly harvested organs from a child.

So, the film explores a darkly unspeakable region that to my knowledge hasn’t been visited in horror previously. And it does it with a critical energy that doesn’t stop or even slow down during its slim 73 minute running time. The topic at hand isn’t dealt with lightly, as we also have the harrowing viewpoint of Lydia (Lydia Indjova) who has found the harvested corpse of her own daughter. Director Neshvad shows us the understandable, though desperate points of view of both sides, the side needing to save their child and the side of one who failed. The ethical dilemma is obvious. Adding to the urgency is the need to get the organ, which has to be kept at a certain temperature, to the hospital before time runs out. The tension is palpable.

The direction and performances throughout the film are bitterly raw, powerful and convincing, making this one of the most memorable films of the year.

I was lucky enough to be offered a screener for review, hence this exclusive look at the film. Child has been selected as Luxembourg’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th OSCARS in 2027. If you have the chance to see it when it’s released theatrically, I’d urge you to check it out

Rob Rating = 9