Suffer The Little Children

Director - Corey Norman (Natal, The Hanover House)
Starring - Anne Bobby (Nightbreed, In Fear Of), Andrew Lyndaker (Tickle, Speak to Me), and Beth Somerville (How to Kill A Zombie, Redcupid.com)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Thriller/Horror
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     My reviews have kinda taken the back seat as of late where I work full time, have a pregnant wife, and a toddler running about.  My wife and I was expecting a little boy the 26th of this month but he decided to surprise us and he arrived Wednesday.  This forced some of my reviews to be put on hold.  One of those reviews is for the short film Suffer the Little Children from Bonfire Films and director Corey Norman.  This short is an adaption of the short story by Stephen King as part of his $1 film program.  I watched this film a few days ago but the events that befell my family and I pushed this review back until today.
     The film follows stern teacher, Ms. Sidley (Bobby), who loves nothing more than putting her pupils in line.  However, not all her students are good little boys and girls.  One little boy in particular is always giving her a hard time by saying cryptic things.  This makes Ms. Sidley uncomfortable and eventually leads to her blacking out in the girl's restroom.  She returns to work sometime later and the boy is still getting under skin.  She confronts him and his face changes revealing a monster underneath.  She panics and sets in motion a plan to stop the evil children from hurting everyone else.
     Before I go any further I have to admit that I have not read the Stephen King story this is based on so I can not verify how close to the source material this short actually goes.  I only agreed to review this short because Norman is an amazing filmmaker that very few in the indie scene can touch.  His films always have style and never disappoint.  The acting in this one is fantastic.  Anne Bobby is brilliant as the sincere teacher and she makes my skin crawl and sends a chill down my spine when she flips and turns into a cold-hearted murderer.  The remainder of the cast is solid with no one person standing out but Bobby is the film's main focus and she shines in her role.  The story for this one is very unnerving especially considering I watched this a second time mere hours after my son was born.  This one really touches a nerve and will bring any horror fan to the edge of their seat.  Finally, the film has several on screen kills.  Sadly, these kills are not that impressive and pulls the tone of the film down drastically.  The kills look like a combination of practical and visual effects that just did not work out that well.  This film is stylistically beautiful and has great atmosphere so the movie would have actually benefited from not showing the kills and only hinting at them.  Overall, Suffer the Little Children is a suspense masterpiece.  The film is beautifully shot, gracefully acted, and will chill you to the bone.  The subject matter is one that hits close to home for anyone with a family.  If you ever have the opportunity to check this one out please do yourself a favor and do so.  It is well worth it!