There are some tricks that aren’t quite found footage kosher, such as the spooky soundscape that runs constantly in the background. These sounds are very effective to keep the momentum going on the slide show, but they aren’t anything that would be “found” on an old tape. Also, the VHS tape glitches seem to be there for decoration instead of a realistic imitation, like the digital film print damage that evokes the 70s. Once again, not necessarily genuine but still potent in engaging the viewer.
The real draw of The Children Under The House is the genius visions of a nightmare world through the abstract lens of a child’s drawings. The childlike visual vocabulary already lends itself to a sinister overtone, due to the juxtaposition of joyous versus dire. Then Catalanotto explores how a child would interpret truly unspeakable acts of brutality with real raw expressionism, trying to bite you in the neck.
“The real draw of The Children Under The House is the genius visions of a nightmare world through the abstract lens of a child’s drawings.”
At the center stage is the film’s revolutionary take on the scope of how horrifying ghosts can be. There are these simple images of floating hands that become a motif in how Jess draws the ghosts, which is almost cute in a grim way. But then we meet the ghost of a little girl, who had so many hands do so many horrible things to her while she was alive, that she is nothing but eyes, teeth, and a hundred snatching hands, one for each hand that hurt her.
Some of the drawings of the night creatures in truly horrible states of devolution are blood-curdling in not just what they show but what they suggest. This will draw you in a lot quicker than you’d expect, with Catalanotto injecting the spook parade with some real dramatic hooks with Jess’s family. But it is Mia, the floating torso, that is the real star of the show, right from her first appearance with all that blood running down her chin. Mia is a tangible presence that imbues the whole movie in a truly bizarre way that everyone will love. I would like to see her show up on another found videotape in a sequel, because at this point, I want more. So get to scribbling because The Children Under The House is waiting behind your watchlist, one of the scariest things in the stream. If the concept of a horror movie done in kids’ drawings tickles your fancy, this is the movie that will tickle it until it glows in the dark.
"…one of the scariest things in the stream."
