During the early ’90s, USA’s Up All Night was “must see” viewing on the weekend as you were drinking a glass or two of water before going to bed. The triple feature of movies hosted by Gilbert Gottfried and Rhonda Shear lasted beyond last call with a low budget feature films from the ’80s. While it was easy to doze off, few things got my second wind kicked in like the opening credits to Troma films. There was something special coming up with the musical fanfare and the animated cityscape. This was more exciting than the MGM lion or the Warner shield. Troma represented a filmmaking that was low budget, gross and bloody. At some point the cast was going to be covered in goo and fake guts. Beware: Children at Play is a choice slice of Troma.
John DeWolfe (Michael Robertson) is a bestselling author of crime books, but he’s taking a break from the typewriter to go on a little trip the countryside with his wife and young daughter. When he drops by the house of his friend Ross Carr (Rich Hamilton), he gets drawn into a serious mystery. Ross’s daughter has vanished. She’s not the only kid in the area that’s on “have you seen me” posters on telephone poles. This sweet rural area has turned into the child abduction capital of America. Has a convention of child kidnappers descended on the town? Or is it aliens abducting the youth for some interstellar zoo? Turns out what happened to the kids is a twisted nightmare since they have gone completely wild in the wilderness. Can DeWolfe, Carr and the other parents have any help bringing back their kids to their old ways?
Beware: Children At Play is a rather rough film on many levels and that’s probably a good thing. The acting is what you’d find at small town’s neighborhood players theater. Most of the actors mainly have this movie as their chief credit. Michael Robertson appears to have a bit of success as a producer making shark flicks including The Reef and Great White. Bernard Hocke has acted in quite a lot of films and TV shows over the decade including an episode of Seinfeld. The special effects while rather dramatic aren’t quite the stomach-churning masterpieces created by Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead). This is also a good thing since the ending involves a group of parents having to kill a lot of wild children. This could have been a seriously disturbing film. This is avoided by most of the child actors screen dying on screen like they’re in an elementary school play with plenty of ketchup to spice up the bloodshed. You’ll find yourself laughing at a few of the kills instead of being outraged. That “we can make it work” attitude is the key to Troma films from this era. If the producers of Beware: Children At Play had hired top notch actors and an Oscar worthy special effects crew, this movie would be too shocking to be shown in the world. Instead we get to enjoy the attitude without feeling like we’re watching a snuff film. Beware: Children At Play will keep you up if you hit play after 2 a.m.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The new scan off the camera negative looks better than every version I’ve seen over the decades. You’ll really get a laugh out of the final scene as the kids hit their marks and try to sell the special effects. The audio is DTS-HD MA stereo. You’ll be able to hear wild kids attack from both speakers. The movie is subtitled.
Audio Commentary with director Mike Cribben gives plenty of stories about putting together this low budget horror film. He talks about how he was a Steadicam operator, but he didn’t do that on the film because he was already doing so much on the production including acting. He did have a movie equipment rental business which helped keep the costs low.
Why I Don’t Have Children (51:06) is a documentary with cast and crew. They all agree that this is a film that wouldn’t be made today. They do joke that it affected how they view having kids.
Interview with Mik Cribben (15:32) is a recent talk with him in his kitchen. He was originally an actor. He wrote the treatment and Fred Scharkey turned it into a script.
Archival Interview with Mik Cribben (3:54) appears to be from the original Troma DVD release. He talks about what inspired him to become a director. He was supposed to be doing a Vietnam War film and raised the budget and in the middle of pre-production, the screenwriter changed their mind on having him make the film. They pulled it together before the money vanished. He admits they mixed film stocks during the shoot since they bought short ends.
Vinegar Syndrome presents Beware: Children At Play. Directed by Mik Cribben. Screenplay by Fred Scharkey. Starring: Michael Robertson, Rich Hamilton, Robin Lilly, Lori Tirgrath, Jamie Krause & Mik Cribben. Running Time: 94 minutes. Rated: Unrated. Release Date: March 29, 2022.
