Children of the Night

Horror fans will likely overlook the technical raggedness in Argentinean filmmaker Ivan Noel's low-budget digital feature due to its interesting twists on vampire mythology and its sly humor. Buenos Aries journalist Alicia (Sabrina Ramos) investigates a curious rural orphanage called Limbo, where the children all suffer from a "photosensitive" disorder that keeps them dormant during the day, but fully active and healthy at night. In fact, the kids—some of whom are many decades old—were all bitten by irresponsible adult vampires (no different than human gourmands eating veal, we're told), and had no choice but to become ageless bloodsuckers. Now they are guarded and carefully raised in an atmosphere of relative moral innocence according to Catholic Church strictures, but they remain dangerous nonetheless (although a black-clad squad of vampire-slaying grownups hovering nearby are worse). Even Dracula and Bram Stoker are woven into the premise of this film that includes some gore (not very realistic) and troubling themes of outcast children being abused and killed (although they also get delicious revenge). Recommended. (C. Cassady)