In the scheme of “killer kid” movies, “The Bad Seed” was first, “Alice Sweet Alice” is an underappreciated gem and “Children of the Corn” is not nearly as good as you remember it being. Also: have you seen 2008's “The Children”? If not, seek it out immediately.
The latest entry in the storied sub-genre is “Cooties,” a new film from Elijah Wood's SpectreVision shingle that sees a group of elementary school teachers struggling to survive against a horde of zombified students. Wood (a dedicated horror nut who also successfully fended off a murderous 12-year-old Macaulay Culkin in 1993's “The Good Son”) stars alongside Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Jack McBrayer and Jorge Garcia. The script comes from Leigh Whannell (“Saw,” “Insidious”) and Ian Brennan (“Glee”); it was directed by Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott (making their feature-film debut).
Will “Cooties” be the next indie horror success story? Guess we'll see. Watch the trailer above.
“Cooties” is in theaters and on VOD September 18.