The Prodigy Review
R: Violence, disturbing and bloody images, a sexual reference and brief graphic nudity
Orion Pictures
1 Hr and 32 Minutes
Dir: Nicholas McCarthy | Writer: Jeff Buhler
Cast: Taylor Schilling, Jackson Robert Scott, Colm Feore, Brittany Allen, Peter Mooney
Miles is a young boy who shows signs of genius intellect, but also more disturbing and sinister behaviors. Sarah, his mother, takes him to a therapist and begins to suspect that he may be influenced or possessed by a supernatural force.
In the world of horror, you’ll get the evil child narrative every few years or so. As far as creepy kids go, you can’t get creepier than Isabelle Fuhrman in The Orphan.
Though he isn’t scary by any means, the kid in this film (Jackson Robert Scott) gives an alright performance. As a child actor whose role solely lies on him, he does a decent job with the material given (even when that material is pretty bad).
If there is anything I truly did like about The Prodigy was how elaborately the movie opens. It sets up the story in a developed fashion. All that is needed to know is that a random murderous psychopath gets reincarnated into a newborn baby. I love how that scene plays out and how it opens the movie, but that’s it. From there on out… ooooh, boy.
For a 92-minute horror movie, I kind of wish this had a longer running time. Not only does this film move at a fast pace, but its narrative never feels fully developed. Outside of its opening, every scene is underwritten and lacks a natural progression. Every narrative beat hits way too fast. I would’ve preferred a bit more length for scenes to be more developed to enhance the story, or at least a better look at the script to enrich the dialogue. So many lines said by the characters are bland and generic, even by horror movie standards.
Something The Prodigy heavily lacks is a horrific or chilling atmosphere that is mostly undercut by the actions of the characters and, most of all, the dialogue. Miles’ parents are relatively dumb. Taylor Schilling gives a great performance as Miles’ mom Sarah, who is going through an internal conflict relating to this evil possessing her child. Yes, she has a mother’s instinct and you resonate with her internal struggle, but when things get obvious regarding Miles she chooses to ignore it. He does actions of violence and murder long after information is given to Sarah that her son has an evil spirit within him. It’s kind of obvious since Miles never makes it subtle. If there was a bit more subtlety to his character, you would understand and feel for Sarah’s blinded love for her son. But when he’s present in front of her, from his dialogue to his facial expressions, Miles makes it obvious that he’s evil. Because of this, you’re not convinced by any horror atmosphere attempted to be set.
Then, the lines of dialogue…
If there was ever a film that featured countless unintentional laughs of terrible dialogue to take me out of a horror movie, it would be this.
Some of the things said by Miles are just fucking hilarious. I can’t tell if it’s intentional or not, but god they’re funny. Call me immature but a nine-year-old kid uttering lines such as, “go fuck yourself” and “cock in my mouth” is fucking hilarious even out of context. You thought the kid from A Wrinkle in Time who played Charles Wallace was hysterical? Jackson Robert Scott says, “hold my beer” and takes it to a new level. This kid gives a decent performance, but often times he goes way too over-the-top. Even the questionable imagery that actively tries to be scary comes off as unintentionally laughable. There are several shots of an old man’s face placed on Miles’ face meant for jump scares, but it is just weird. Not even creepy or scary. Just weird. Plus, it reminds me of this sequence of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Junior:
That image alone is far scarier than most of the imagery in this movie. But seriously, the usage of vulgarity is mostly on Miles’ end and his delivery alone ruins any sort of tension built in any of the scenes. Not that he’s bad or anything, it’s just that in context… a kid saying “fuck” is hysterical.
The film is rated R and it’s hella tame. For the most part, I thought this was PG-13. They only used the word “fuck” once and most of the violence, which is brutal, is not that gory. The goriest thing shown is a piece of glass caught on a woman’s foot. By the way, the narrative actively dumbs itself down. The Prodigy never reaches its full potential while feeling incomplete. Even the editing feels incomplete, for the film keeps fading to black as transitions as if it was about to hit a commercial break or it’s the ending of The Sopranos. I scare easily. Hell, I admit, I sit through most horror movies with my hands in my ears because I’m a punk when it comes to jump scares and this managed to not get even one little chill or scare out of me. Because of how underwritten the story is and how fast it’s paced, I was never able to immerse myself in the film. I’m just there watching these underdeveloped scenes, stripped out of more notable horror films, play out. The entire film is devoid of any natural tension for obvious actions characters could’ve taken to handle their situation better especially, with the mother, Sarah.
Now, while I was entertained for all the wrong reasons, the story halts at a point to go down one of two paths for its third act: One set on the morality of Sarah having to destroy her creation and the other is an unnecessarily convoluted journey based on a mystery that shouldn’t have even been thought of. Take a guess on the path it decides to choose. From the third act to the conclusion, every decision Sarah makes is questionably dumb and where the story leads to is even dumber. The intentions were in the right place but the execution is middling to a point that the ending is underwhelming and never feels quite earned.
For future reference to horror filmmakers and screenwriters:
Lights.
People use them.
People turn on lights when things get creepy in the dark.
It doesn’t matter if your film desperately need a spooky atmosphere.
Have characters turn on the lights in their house.
This is not a nitpick, this is a trope done to death that audiences are picking up on.
Lights are your friends. Spooky things can still occur with them on. If people are walking around in the dark feeling scared, we turn on lights and so should your characters. Believe it or not, it makes them relatable and a bit more human. Plus, we won’t think they’re stupid (which these characters are) when they shouldn’t need to be. I can’t believe it took me a review of The Prodigy go on a rant about the usage of lights in a horror movie. But hey, when they’re present, just use them. Please.
The Prodigy may have an interesting concept and is unintentionally entertaining, but its poor screenplay, recycled tropes, and fast pace makes this supernatural horror feel very undeveloped.
I don’t know what’s more disappointing; this movie not being scary or not being focused on the electronic music group of the same name.
Rating: 1.5/5 39%
Super Scene: Miles Vs. Reincarnation Doctor
