"The Prodigy" (The Prodigy) is a good idea, but the execution of ordinary regrets. The story is online, logically smooth, suspenseful, and horrifying, but the overall story is too flat and straightforward, and there are few bright spots. The feeling of the film is that it is always hesitating at the exciting climax point, and it is difficult to break through the ceiling of skill, which gives people a sense of tastelessness. The story of the film tells that the young couple finally got their wish and gave birth to their son Miles. Miles has shown extraordinary talent in intelligence, and everyone around him regards him as a child prodigy. The mother is also proud of her son's talent.
But the good times didn't last long, the older Miles got, the weird he got. Not only did the food taste drastically change, but even his personality became irritable. Sometimes, he looked like two people, and even made horrible acts of cruelty and killing of animals. Miles's mother gradually discovered the ulterior secret of Miles under the reminder of the doctors and god disciples.
The film does not intend to bury deep suspense on the identity issue. In the first act of the film, a cross-editing method is used to imply that the birth of Miles is entangled with the death of the murderer Edward who was killed by the police. The god disciple hinted that Edward's soul was possessed by Miles. After Miles is eight years old, he may not be able to reverse. Edward, who is more mentally powerful, may completely occupy Miles' body and drive his soul out forever.
It is rare in western films to involve the idea of Eastern reincarnation in the story. "Wizard" integrates the Western soul and Eastern reincarnation to construct its own logical system. Although the story is slightly the same as last year's popular horror film "Inheritance of Doom" and previous "horror children" themes such as "Bad Species" and "Orphans Resentment", it still maintains its own uniqueness.
The narrative of "Prodigy" is calm and stable, and the biggest suspense lies in the "real body" of the 8-year-old boy Miles. With the development of the story and the continuous occurrence of mysterious phenomena, it becomes more and more difficult for the mother to judge whether the son in front of him is Miles or the murderer Edward in control. The biggest horror is that in many cases, seemingly innocent and kind children may be deliberately disguised by adult murderers.
Under the angel's face, there is an evil soul hidden, which is really chilling, terrifying, and anxious. Because of the plot setting of "possession", the theme of "Prodigy" is not only about "human nature is good" or the erosion of good is hard to resist the erosion of evil, but there is also an extension and exaltation. The film progresses to the third act, and the suspenseful points are revealed to be completed. The mother already knew of Edward's control over her son's body, but she firmly believed that as long as Edward completed the killing that hadn't been done many years ago, she would leave contentedly and return the body to her son Miles.
So she made an amazing decision to help Edward kill the woman who had escaped years ago. This decision triggered a heated discussion among movie fans. Knowing that his son is a murderer, choose to call the police or condone, and even become an accomplice. The bottom line of maternal love, the first line between maternal love and doting may lead to a completely different ending.
"Prodigy" also gives a very low, very cruel ending, revealing the pessimism on the theme, and also gives a terrifying cycle. In fact, Edward's setting is just a metaphor of "growth" in reality. "Bad Species" believes that "human nature is evil"; "Orphan Grim" believes that evil does not distinguish between age and appearance, on the contrary, appearance may sometimes be the best concealment of evil; "Inheritance of Doom" casts evil on the family and blood. It is believed that the evil of the previous generation will affect the spiritual growth of the next generation and will continue the tragedy to the next generation. "Prodigy" combines some of the above points of view, and focuses more on discovering the reaction of parents when they discover the malicious growth of the next generation.
I believe that most people don't want to spend many years training a murderer, but sometimes the causes that are planted by doting will bear tyrannical results. In the film, the choice made by her mother led to an irreparable tragedy for herself and Miles. "Prodigy" is a bit regretful that there are horror and thriller scenes, but they are not prominent enough. The level of suspense can only be regarded as ordinary, and it does not make people feel surprised. Although there is progress in the theme, many good details of the film are not deepened, and the production of suspense comes to an abrupt end.
Miles' evil growth is actually not as simple as evil spirit possession. As a child with high IQ, his shortcomings in emotional intelligence are ignored by his parents and the public. His cleverness conceals all shortcomings, and the shortcomings will evolve into vices and quirks without correction, leading to uncontrollable character development. In addition, Miles' dependence on his mother showed a clear Oedipus plot , which also led to his break with his father. The film also shows the mentally ill scene of Miles from confrontation to father killing, but there is no clear source for this confrontation, nor does it show this change, and it is still reduced to plot supplements to enhance the atmosphere.
These ambiguities are still a problem of script polishing. "Prodigy" has a good story base, but the strategy is old-fashioned when telling the story, and the new ideas are lacking, which is a little regrettable. The last must say that the film plays the boy Miles boy actor Jackson Robert Scott special. He has a good performance in the hit horror film "Recall the Clown".
He also played an important role in the Oscar's best live-action short film "Skin Tone". Scott, who is only 10 years old, has a rich performance level, far beyond the maturity and changeability that his age should have, and his future is immeasurable. He is a typical talented actor.
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