Released on June 13, 1980, THE CHILDREN arrived in theaters and delivered one of the strangest and most unsettling horror concepts of the early slasher era.
Directed by Max Kalmanowicz, the film follows a group of schoolchildren who are exposed to a mysterious toxic cloud after a nuclear plant accident. When they return home, anyone they touch is burned to death by their radioactive skin. Combining nuclear-age paranoia with small-town horror, THE CHILDREN has earned a reputation as one of the more unique cult films of the 1980s.
Fun fact: The film's memorable makeup effects were created on a modest budget, relying on simple practical effects to transform the children into eerie, radiation scarred killers. Those effects helped the movie stand out among the flood of low-budget horror releases of the era.
Equal parts creepy, bizarre, and surprisingly effective, THE CHILDREN remains a favorite discovery for fans of obscure 1980s horror. Hidden gem or radioactive curiosity?