Just A Child: Written Review

Just A Child

Written Review

Hi everyone and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, the show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films. My name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions.

Today I’ll be reviewing the 2019 horror feature Just A Child, directed by Italian filmmaker Adam Ford, with story by Andrea Lanza and MyIndie featured artist, Domiziano Cristopharo, who was also cinematographer on the project, as well as co-produced it along with Coulson Rutter. The script was written by Sebastian Sonta.

This is the second film I review by Adam Ford, having already reviewed the excellent Torment in Season One.

Thank you, Adam, for sharing your film with us!

A teenager named Bob, and his mother, Barbara, portrayed by Alessandro Feudale and Chiara Pavoni, return to their old house in a secluded part of the countryside, along with Barbara’s new boyfriend Anthony, played by Alfonso D’Auria.

Bob and Barbara are coping with the loss of Bob’s father, Barbara’s husband, who recently passed away. Although it seems Anthony provides much needed companionship and stability for Barbara, it is apparently very hard for Bob to process his grief and confusion along with this new arrangement.

Strange occurrences hit us right from the first scene, giving us a promise of a tale shrouded in mystery, to be deciphered as the plot progresses. I won’t delve any further into details for fear of spoiling.

The story cleverly lays out distinct character arcs for Bob, Barbara and Anthony, allowing us to run possible scenarios, as to what is going on. Each character has a tough history, as well as some sort of mental burden, which comes into play as we are exposed to new reveals as the story moves along.

Adam Ford gives us a Giallo influenced horror film, which gives nod to iconic Italian horror directors the likes of Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci.

The film itself did not have to be made in Giallo style, as the story could have worked well in a variety of horror styles, but it felt to have been used here as homage to the genre.

At its core, Just a Child is a story about coping with tragedy, which gives us various angles to relate to, as it gives fair focus for each character.

The main issue I had with the film lies somewhat in the dissonance between elements in certain scenes, and the overall direction the plot takes, which left me uncertain how to connect the dots at times, as I felt that some of the information revealed to me contradicted other elements I was later led to focus on.

Having said that, my interpretation and impression are my own, meaning I could be wrong.

Aside for that, the performances were fairly convincing, the production value was fairly high for an indie film. Excellent, at times breathtaking, cinematography by Cristopharo, along with largely professional SFX by Cristopharo‘s alter-ego, Athanasius Pernath, who also did Poison Rouge’s American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice, combined with a fitting and delightful score by Alexander Cimini, also responsible for Cristopharo’s Red Krokodil as well as Sacrifice, made for an enjoyable viewing experience in the film’s 67 minute run-time, especially for diehard Giallo enthusiasts.

Just A Child scores a 7.5/10 on the Look At Me, I’m A Film Critic scale!
The film is due for wide release next year via Darkside Releasing, so stay tuned for further updates.

If you’d like to catch-up on our past reviews and promos, you can find them all on our recently launched MyIndie Review Vlog Vimeo channel. Link included.

Until next time, keep supporting indie film. Watch, share, spread the word, my name is Asaf Angel, I thank you for tuning in to MyIndie Review Vlog. I’ll see you next Thursday!