For a movie that deals with the possession of a young boy, it’s ironic that “The Prodigy” feels like a hollow shell once housed by far better horror films. Taking a familiar tale and bringing nothing new to the table, this Orion Pictures release is in desperate need of some sort of entity that will breathe even the slightest bit of life into it. Directed by Nicholas McCarthy, Orion appears to be doubling down on “Child’s Play” nostalgia given they’re releasing the upcoming 2019 reboot and given how much “The Prodigy” borrows a substantial amount from the original Chucky outing. This uninspired horror about a family and their murderous 8-year-old is a bland and boring amalgamation of “Child’s Play,” “The Omen,” and strangely enough, a pinch of “The Book of Henry” (yikes).
Miles (Jackson Robert Scott) is a young boy who shows signs of a genius intellect and sinister behavior. Fearing not only for her son but her family as a whole, his mother Sarah (Taylor Schilling) seeks assistance from a therapist who specializes in the supernatural and soon discovers Miles has been overtaken by a dark entity. Sarah is forced to reckon with protecting her son whatever it takes, but at what cost?
As the marketing suggests, the biggest question “The Prodigy” poses is “What’s Wrong With Miles,” and from the opening, which feels oddly edited like a trailer rather than a film, it’s made abundantly clear where the story is going and what exactly ails this young boy. It’s with that in mind that once its secrets are revealed that ‘’Prodigy’ completely plateaus and shows the audience that there truly isn’t much of a story to tell. The film is merely going through the motions of a typical possessed child (or doll) horror story lacking any genuine thrills or chills and doing the bare minimum from there. After rushing through the set up that barely establishes these shallow characters, this dull and predictable approach becomes a drag, bogging down the film’s pacing and resulting in 1hr and 40mins feeling as though it’s at least two hours.
The flow, especially early on, is choppy, jumping in and out of time and pieced together like a series of promos; the shoddy editing hurts it throughout. Very seldom do the filmmakers allow moments to play out in full which contributes to the emotional void, the drab plot and empty characters.
It’s a shame because Taylor Schilling (“Orange Is The New Black“) usually excels, but she fails to elevate the material she’s given here. Schilling is by no means terrible but there’snot a lot she can do with this one-note “concerned mother” character.
Worse, what little characterization her character has is betrayed by such an irrational and ludicrous decision that it’ll give you “The Book of Henry” PTSD flashbacks. Thankfully, the boy, Jackson Robert Scott is impressive and convincingly portrays both personalities vying for the control of Miles. He’s given just enough creepy and devious moments and chews up what he can of the scenery. That said, there’s a missed opportunity to explore the mind of a gifted individual and the effects it has on the child. Instead, it’s merely a plot device to mask his possession.
Speaking of Miles’ dominion, the explanation of why and how this young boy is suffering from these dark desires is laughable and over-explained through a therapist (Colm Feore) who is merely walking exposition. ‘Prodigy’ certainly poses an interesting interpretation of the supernatural and has the potential to comment on a certain belief but unfortunately, that promise is wasted in the film’s clunky execution.
While technically not a January release—the notorious dumping ground for bad horror movies—“The Prodigy” arrives a few days late, but definitely feels at home with that crowd of forgettable junk. Offering very little in the way of enjoyment or anything other than clichéd horror tropes, “The Prodigy” isn’t offensively terrible and will unintentionally make for a few solid laughs, but it’s best not to let this forgettable vessel possess much of your time. [D+]
