"There's something wrong with the children" is not a scary movie that will keep you awake
at night.
It deviates from the genre by incorporating social commentary on motherhood, parenting,
and mental health.
The film, directed by Roxanne Benjamin, hints at the childbirth debate while layering it
with horror elements.
"There's something wrong with the children" is not the first of its kind, but it is not
a complete failure due to the themes it attempts to explore.
I got the creeps because the buildup was too quick.
Because the revelation was obvious and foreseen, there were few "jump-out-of-your-seat" moments.
The film only becomes interesting when viewed through the social commentary lens, but it
limits itself and does not fully explore the themes, leaving a bitter taste.
Warning Spoilers Ahead.
Two couples—Ben and Margaret, Ellie and Thomas—decide to spend time together in
the woods and live in cabins instead of their usual city lives.
Spencer and Lucy, Ellie and Thomas's children, accompanied them.
Ellie and Thomas's relationship appeared strained from the start.
Ellie was bothered by his behavior because he was distant and ignored her.
They called it a night after a round of drinks and drove their children to their cabin.
Ben had organized a hike for the six of them.
He was the most daring member of the group, and he didn't mind chopping down a few shrubs
to find a trail path.
They came across the old ruins of a building after walking down the trail.
Ben suspected it was an old, decommissioned military fort, a fur company, or an abandoned
mining camp.
He was in his element, and he relished every minute of his investigation into the unexpected
discovery.
The atmosphere in the building was dark and eerie.
What was odd was that a hole in the ground was surrounded by a wall, and there were stairs
leading up to it.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the massive hole.
Ben threw a stone into the hole to gauge its depth.
The hole was extremely deep, and the atmosphere was becoming unsettling.
Ellie and Margaret decided to leave, but the children remained hypnotized by the hole.
Spencer described it as "the place that shines," despite the fact that it was dark and deep.
Except for Spencer, they all walked away from the hole when Lucy's nose began to bleed.
Spencer stepped forward to jump into the hole while the adults were busy tending to Lucy's
bleeding.
Ben rushed to grab hold of Spencer when Ellie noticed him.
While they were able to save the children, something supernatural was lurking in the
ruins, pleading with them to submit.
The kids fell asleep soon after arriving at the cabin, while the adults drank and gossiped.
The eerie atmosphere of the old ruins was forgotten as marital problems were discussed.
Ellie revealed to Margaret in private that the distance between her and Thomas grew after
they had sexual relations with another couple.
While Thomas appeared to be interested in the other woman, he did not engage in sexual
activity like Ellie.
She was made to feel as if she had cheated on him from that day forward, and the guilt
consumed her.
Margaret suggested they spend a night together without the kids to rekindle their chemistry.
She was more than willing to look after Lucy and Spencer for her.
Ellie needed a night off to focus on their marriage, so she readily agreed.
Ben and Margaret were in charge of the children while Thomas and Ellie went to their cabin
to spend time together.
Ben was a natural with the kids, which made Margaret wonder if the decision not to have
children was entirely hers.
Ben supported her decision, but it was not his decision.
While Margaret pondered their future as a couple, they ignored Spencer's obsession with
returning to the "bright place."
When Ben refused to take them to the fort, he hissed back.
Why did the kids want to return to the old fort?
What exactly was the "bright place"?
Ending Explained: What Was In The “Bright Place”?
What Happens To Lucy And Spencer In The End?
When Margaret entered Lucy and Spencer's room the next morning, she discovered their beds
were empty.
The couple searched for the children frantically, but they were nowhere to be found.
Ben went to the old fort, knowing Spencer and Lucy were desperate to get to the bright
place, while Margaret stayed behind in case the kids returned.
Ben arrived at the fort and discovered the children staring down at the hole.
He asked them to return, but they jumped instead.
Ben was in a state of shock; he witnessed the children's deaths and was powerless to
intervene.
Margaret informed him that the kids had returned just as he was about to hopelessly share what
he saw at the fort.
After waking up, they apparently went to their parents' cabin.
Ben couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He was certain he saw Lucy and Spencer's dead bodies at the bottom of the hole, but how
did they return?
After the fort incident, Ben noticed that the kids were acting strangely.
They were more energetic than usual and exhibited significantly greater physical strength than
before.
Ben confronted them, asking if they had visited the fort.
They replied that they had been there, but that he should not look any further.
The children spoke in a secret language, and their actions were mysterious and demonic.
Ben went into his room, unable to bear what he had witnessed.
Margaret noticed Ben's sudden mood shift and followed him inside the cabin.
Ben told Margaret about what he had seen in the old fort.
He thought the kids were not who they used to be.
It was logically impossible because he had witnessed their deaths.
Margaret was shocked, and she was concerned about Ben's mental health.
He had previously experienced manic episodes, and she wondered if he was experiencing something
similar now.
Ben's memory was untrustworthy, no matter how hard he tried to convince her.
She thought he was agitated, which led to a delusional state of mind.
Ben realized that what he was saying could not be trusted by anyone, not even his partner.
Even after taking his mood stabilizer pills, the kids remained strange.
They were playing games with him in order to drive him insane.
They wanted him to act insane so that no one could trust him.
Ellie and Thomas began to keep their distance from him after a troubling episode in which
he grabbed Spencer's arm too tightly and narrated what he believed to be the truth.
They were surprised to learn that Ben and Margaret had no idea where Lucy and Spencer
had gone that morning.
The heated debate eventually devolved into mudslinging by bringing up their deep, dark
secrets.
The two couples were no longer the same; everything between them had changed.
They lost their respect and affection for one another, which was exactly what the kids
desired.
The children came to see Ben and prompted him to steal a shovel from Spencer, which
resulted in what appeared to be his death.
Ben panicked as Lucy laughed as she watched her brother die.
Margaret, Ellie, and Thomas came to the conclusion that Ben was the one who murdered Spencer.
He had been accusing the children since the morning, and they had concluded that Ben's
mania was the cause of his death.
Ben was thrown out of the cabin, and Spencer's murder was reported.
Ben tried one last time to persuade Margaret of his innocence while they waited for the
cops.
He led her to the ancient ruins, but there were no bodies, as he had claimed.
Ben was too shaken by the news to leave the fort, and Margaret hoped they could spend
one last moment together before he was taken away.
Lucy invited her to accompany her on her way back to the cabin.
She requested that he show her something in the woods.
Margaret was perplexed by her request, especially given how unaffected she was by her brother's
death.
Margaret went inside the cabin to find Ellie after Thomas interrupted their conversation.
Thomas followed Lucy into the woods; in the meantime, we learn that Spencer was only pretending
to be dead and had abducted his mother when Margaret entered the cabin.
She searched the cabin but found no trace of Ellie or Spencer.
She dialed Thomas' number and heard his phone ring in the woods, but he did not answer.
Margaret became concerned when she heard strange noises coming from another room.
There was blood everywhere when she entered the room.
Margaret discovered Ellie, who was covered in blood, and she died in her arms.
Margaret noticed Spencer approaching her.
Spencer was not the same; he had a green spark in his eyes and blood on his face.
She shut the door, trapping him.
Margaret and the children then engaged in a game of hide and seek.
Meanwhile, the police arrived, but she, too, was kidnapped and killed by the children.
Margaret made it to her car, but then she noticed Ben enter the cabin.
She rushed in to save him, but she soon realized that he, too, was not the Ben she remembered.
He was possessed by a spirit that wanted Margaret to submit to its power and bear children so
that their numbers could grow.
He wanted to start a family with her and the kids, but she wasn't ready yet.
She attacked him and tried to flee, but the children caught up with her.
She was dragged through the woods and deposited alongside the other bodies in the old fort.
She observed the children tossing the other bodies into the hole.
She waited for the right moment before pushing the kids into the hole.
After receiving the bodies, she noticed the hole emitting a green glow.
Margaret approached her car, and as she attempted to flee, Ben approached her.
Thomas, who was also injured, unexpectedly assisted her by tackling Ben.
Margaret jumped in her car and drove as quickly as she could.
She came to a halt in her car to process the flood of emotions she was feeling.
But as she looked ahead, she noticed Ben, Spencer, and Lucy blocking the path.
They held hands as they waited for Margaret to submit.
She could have a family or fight for her freedom; she chose the latter.
We can deduce that the "bright place" was the home of a bizarre creature that fed on
human souls and duplicated their bodies and minds.
The duplicate bodies were returned to society in order to bring more humans, which would
eventually lead to the alien settlement's dominance.
Spencer's shirt has an alien spaceship on it as a hidden detail.
The Serpentine Lord in Lucy's obsession with cards is an entity that feeds on souls, similar
to the creature in the bright place, and while playing the game, Margaret got the Serpentine
Lord, foreshadowing how the real events would unfold.
Halfway through the film, it appeared that "There's something wrong with the children"
wanted the audience to wonder if the adults were overthinking things or if there was truly
something suspicious going on, but the murders and bloodbath ended that possibility.
What Is The Social Commentary In ‘There’s Something Wrong With The Children’?
Margaret and Ben had decided from the start that they would not have children.
They feared that the responsibility would eventually overwhelm them and harm their relationship.
They enjoyed traveling and participating in adventurous activities as a couple and were
unwilling to cut it short.
They'd seen their friends change after becoming parents, and it wasn't something they were
looking forward to.
She was conflicted after seeing Ben with Lucy and Spencer and wondered if she was forcing
her decision on him.
Ben was unsure about becoming a parent; he told Thomas that the constant pressure and
responsibility were not something he was prepared to handle.
He enjoyed being around children, but he didn't think it was enough to change their decision
as a couple.
They made the decision not to have children, which many people found difficult to accept.
Thomas persuaded Ben to think about it.
He extolled the virtues of parenthood while dismissing Ben's concerns.
When Ben and Margaret admitted to losing their children, all hell broke loose.
They were accused of not understanding the concept of responsibility because they did
not have children of their own.
Ellie implied that Margaret couldn't care for her children because she hadn't gone through
childbirth.
Ben and Margaret were simply mocked for their way of life.
Ellie attempted to divide the couple by claiming that Margaret chose not to become a mother
due to Ben's mental health.
As a result, their friends had always wondered behind their backs why they had chosen not
to have children.
They could never accept that Ben and Margaret's lives were simply not what they wanted, so
they concluded that the couple was hiding something.
"There's something wrong with the children," for example, alludes to how frequently those
suffering from mental illnesses are mistrusted and dismissed.
Margaret was the only one of the four adults who was certain of her decision.
She had always felt unprepared for the responsibilities that came with motherhood.
As a result, when the possessed Ben offered her the chance to surrender to power and join
forces to form a family, she summoned the courage and strength to resist.
Society had asked her multiple times, through family and friends, to give up and conform
to the norms, but she had refused each time.
In the end, the choice was between safety and uncertainty.
She could have lived a possessed yet comforting life with Ben if she had reconnected with
him as family.
She instead chose to live her mortal life while adhering to her beliefs.