The Innocents

The Innocents

Four children become friends during the summer holidays, and out of sight of the adults they discover they have hidden powers. While exploring their newfound abilities in the nearby forests and playgrounds, their innocent play takes a dark turn and strange things begin to happen.

  • Released: 2021-09-03
  • Runtime: 117 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Horror, Thrillers
  • Stars: Rakel Lenora Fløttum, Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Sam Ashraf, Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Morten Svartveit, Kadra Yusuf, Lisa Tønne, Nor Erik Vaagland Torgersen, Irina Eidsvold Tøien, Marius Kolbenstvedt, Kim Atle Hansen, Birgit Nordby
  • Director: Eskil Vogt
 Comments
  • diane-89818 - 23 May 2024
    Incredible Performance Wicked Story
    How much goes unnoticeable between kids and their parents these days? The unseen could be way worse than what shows up on the news. What kids experience and can't really put into words is way beyond the ordinary in this outstanding and creepy thriller! Brilliant acting, scenes and action take place in what could be considered something like "the projects" in an ultra diverse Nordic working class suburb. Woven into the norm is a group of 4 kids with extremely diverse intuitive talents divided by good and evil. The opening scene of 2 sisters, the younger a bit tomboyish, the older is autistic paves the way for an illustrious cliffhanger of kids in competition with each other. It's a must see!
  • lovethemheart - 2 December 2023
    How parents' neglect impact their children
    De uskyldige (The innocents) shows us how kids react to what's essentially neglect from their parents. How kids react when they're not being believed, get proper attention and isn't being respected by their parents because of the sole reason they're kids. Kids aren't dumb, they're way smarter than most adults think. The only fault they have is that they've only just started to learn about themselves and the world. So although the acts of these children are far from innocent, the children themselves are.

    Children don't know any better, they simply react on their emotions in the only way they know how. (Obviously what the kids do in the movie - mostly Ben, is extreme, but the message still stands). How kids think and behave is a direct result of their parents/the adults around them, and it's the adults responsibility to love and teach their children what needs to be taught. When they don't get proper love, care and nurture, they react to that, and it doesn't only affect them, it also affects others.

    The adults in this movie aren't exactly bad either, they're not painted as villains or anything, they're just normal parents that we see in our everyday lives. But, despite there being so many parents out here who are actively trying their best, they can still end up neglecting their children - usually emotionally. You can't necessarily blame them for it either as humans are incredibly complicated creatures living in an incredibly complicated world. This movie is only trying to shine a light on the importance of raising children properly, about being more aware how we treat them and what happens when their needs aren't being met.

    This is definitely a very complicated topic and something I can barely cover properly, and I'm sure De uskyldige has a lot more to say that's not only about neglect, but that is one I especially find important.

    Now, my overall "enjoyment" watching this movie? It got boring so many times .. it's kind of slow. I found myself skipping forward a good couple of times because some scenes were a bit too prolonged - they were trying to be suspenseful, but I don't think they always worked. It being 2 hours definitely felt unnecessary, and it kind of failed to draw me in.

    Overall, the acting was good, the effects were good, the message is incredibly important but some scenes were kinda drawn out and there were too many of them. So while I don't think it's a bad movie, the pacing could've been better. Decent movie with a thought-provoking message.
  • CoolG91 - 13 September 2023
    Interesting dark movie
    I really like how the children acted. Very good job. The people complaining about the cat scene, are being silly, it's a horror movie, they're acting like it really happened lol. And it also sets a good precedent, since serial killers are known to be animal abusers as kids.

    They way the brown girl is killed was really sad, that was the only bad part of the movie to me, plus being a kinda slow. But the movie in general is good because it keeps you interested on what's going to happen and has a lot of shocking moments. It would have been nice though if they showed what exactly caused these kids to have those powers, that could have added a more interesting element to that side of the story.
  • TxMike - 10 November 2022
    Kids in Norway, moves very slowly and there's no way to tell what is actually going on.
    I found this movie on DVD at my local library, my wife read the synopsis and decided that she didn't want to see it. I enjoy movies for a number of reasons, one being to observe how the movie was made and what the filmmakers might be trying to communicate.

    Which brings me to my main point, "communication" is faithful only if the "receiver" (audience) gets the message that the "sender" (filmmakers) intended to send. This movie doesn't do that very well. I feel sure the filmmakers had some very specific ideas but mostly failed to communicate them in a way that is clear. As a result I don't rate this movie very highly. And it is not one that I would want to see again.

    It is set in Norway, mostly several families living in a large multi-unit building about 8 to 10 floors high, with a pond and a playground just outside. It focuses on the kids, about 10 to 15 years old, getting together and playing. But this isn't ordinary play as at least one of the kids, maybe two of them, appear to have some sort of telekinetic powers. Maybe even the ability to influence others by thought. All this results in a few tragic scenes but after it was all over I was not quite sure what to make of all of it.

    "The Innocents," a familiar horror movie made leaden by a slow pace and weak plotting.
  • Xstal - 2 October 2022
    Neglect...
    How would you feel, if your desires could be real, if what you wished for just came true, if what you thought, your friends knew too; how would you behave, knowing the world could be your slave, influencing what folks do, knowing they didn't have a clue.

    It's all a bit Carrie lite, and it's definitely not a horror film but more an expression of the feelings of children in a world that has been unable to provide a slice in their life that aligns with their expectations. Hormonal rage and retribution, the chaos of growing up, the growing pains and misinterpretations, the immaturity and the fears of a child - don't take it too literally, unless of course you're of a certain age.
  • sempai_scuba - 28 August 2022
    Turned it off after 25 minutes.
    If you enjoy watching malicious exercise of power, abusing mentally handicapped children, and torturing animals, this is for you.

    If not, give it a miss.

    Obviously, the audience is meant to take a dislike to the main characters. But rather than engage my interest in their fate, it just made me want to spend my time doing something else.

    The mood is definitely dark and ominous, with a well chosen score and direction.

    Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any positive aspects of the main characters' personalities, as they went from being petty, to cruel, to vindictive, to sadistic, and then murderous within less than half an hour.