‘The Innocents’ Review: The Dark Side of Adolescence Abilities

The Innocents is now streaming exclusively on Shudder. Reader Beware Spoilers Ahead

We’ve all heard the quote, “with great power comes great responsibility.” But what if you were to have all that power, and your most significant responsibility was to go outside, make new friends and play during your summer break? The Innocents, a supernatural thriller from writer and director Eskil Vogt (Thelma), asks whether such power corrupts the innocent or amplifies the darkness already there. Starring Rakel Lenora Fløttum, Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim, Sam Ashraf and Ellen Dorrit Pedersen. 

In The Innocents, Ida (Fløttum) is moving to a new town. Accompanied by her parents and sister Anna (Ramstad), who is autistic. Ida is at the age where she is beginning to see what she can get away with, even if she knows it’s wrong. We see this in the subtle abuse of her sister, pinching her in the leg, knowing she can’t say anything, or killing a worm just because it’s there. Already Ida is testing boundaries with her parents and with the kids around the housing complex. Then she meets Ben (Ashraf).

Ben has a magic trick he wants to show her. If he focuses hard, he can push falling objects like projectiles. Just light items such as bottle caps for now, but he’s practicing. The look Ida gives when it happens the first time, is pure delight, and she has no fear at all and wants to see him do it again. The wonder is displayed with childlike innocence at that moment, that the horror of what comes next hits extra hard. 

The two bond quickly, but when Ben decides he wants to play with a neighbor’s cat, his spell on Ida is broken. Fair warning to animal lovers, Ben essentially tortures a cat, and the scene does not shy away. It’s nauseating and frankly unforgivable as a character trope. However, Ida has found her line in the sand, portrayed remarkably by the young actor through her expressions and body language.

Aisha (Bremseth Asheim) is the last of the group to be introduced. She is wide-eyed, soft-spoken, and telepathic. She and Anna immediately become close, mainly because Aisha hears Anna’s thoughts and communicates with her. When the two are together, Anna is calm, focused, and even begins to speak. The foursome elevates each other’s powers, explored innocently enough through fun games.

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 The special effects are subtle but effective in portraying believable manipulations of the environment such powers might induce. It’s superhero cinema without the flash. Their abilities aren’t due to some bizarre occurrence. It’s just something they can do. The filmmaker compares it to being double-jointed, and I love that idea. It’s lonely kids finding out they’re unique in their time alone.

When a silly joke sets Ben off, as he feels he’s being made fun of, he lashes out and hurts Aisha. Anna confronts him, and the two square off, making it clear that Ben is beginning to come unhinged, and Anna is much more powerful than any of them thought. 

One of the things explored so well is the home dynamic of the children. Ida and Anna’s mother is empathetic and present but obviously stretched thin emotionally. She understands that Anna needs extra attention; despite glimpses of progress, every relapse takes another piece of her. There is a scene that says it all: A young teen couple walks hand in hand as she sits on a bench. The camera then focuses on Anna sitting alone in a sandbox. You can see the grief and sadness in the mother’s eyes, not for herself but for her daughter. Pedersen nails it. (Fun fact, Pedersen and Fløttum are real-life mother and daughter)

On the other hand, Ben has an abusive and crass home life. You  begin to wonder if his family has moved so many times because he’s the issue or if the family is running from something else. Aisha lives with her mother, who is mentally unwell but seems to try her best. This will be a factor later that is exploited by Ben to heartbreaking results. Fathers aren’t a factor in the movie, though Ida and Anna’s dad is still alive, he’s passive at best.

Isolating himself from his new friends and his mother, Ben’s telekinesis grows to a point he can exact his creative revenge, first on the bullies that torment him and then on the girls who he thinks teased him. His rage, sociopathy, and lack of control build to the point where the sisters and their new allies must put an end to his reign or fear becoming a victim themselves.

Visually The Innocents is portrayed through the lens of a child. Many angles are low, so the trees, buildings, and adults tower over the actors. Cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen puts you into their point of view. The pacing is that of a summer day and takes its time. The camera is much more fluid when the dreams come, and the environment floats into view. However, it gives the landscape a little more sinister feel, and when the idea of “fetching” occurs, the barrier between dreams and nightmares is lost. 

The cast primarily consists of very young and new actors,  and they have incredible talents. Sam Ashraf as Ben is the standout and gives a performance that a seasoned professional would admire. I don’t know the backstory of Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, so I couldn’t say she is actually autistic, but regardless, such a brave actor. It’s one of the most realistic portrayals of autism I have seen ever put to film. The little nuances she does to let you know when she’s bouncing back and forth between being in control is phenomenal. 

The Innocents isn’t an easy watch, and it’s a gut punch of a movie that will get you lost in thought after it ends. I wonder if it would have resonated with me so much if I wasn’t a father myself, but it’s assertive and risk-taking filmmaking that you rarely see out of America anymore. I know superhero movies get a lot of grief, especially from the horror community, but this is one you won’t want to miss. Just make sure you’re prepared because you’re not. 4.5/5

★★★★

Check out the trailer below and The Innocents is now streaming on Shudder. Be sure to stay tuned to ScaryNerd for all things horror, sci-fi, fantasy and everything in between.

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