I always find myself feeling good after watching movies like this. I’ve read other opinions on it, and I can’t believe how seriously some people took it. The basic idea is ridiculous from the start, and Troma is known for making these kinds of wild films. 'The Children' isn’t scary or atmospheric, but there's something about it that makes it worthwhile in its own way. I don’t know what others think, but I won’t dislike a low-budget horror movie from the early 80s featuring zombie children with black fingernails who kill people by giving them a fatal hug. The "special effects" are just as silly as the plot and this is one of those times when I actually feel a strange respect for the director's effort, given limited resources. Another filmmaker might have quit or even walked away from the project, but Mr. Max Kalmanowicz took a chance and ultimately produced something good enough to become a 'guilty pleasure'. Regardless, whether it’s a guilty pleasure or not, the director deserves praise for creating this delightfully silly film. There's an odd fascination with evil children in horror movies, isn't there? I’ve seen quite a few of them and realized that even when the movie itself isn’t great, there's something morbidly interesting about a child killing an adult. In this case, though, 'The Children' feels more like a zombie film. The killers are five children roaming around a small town and murdering adults, but they don’t really act like people at all. We never see them talking to each other, planning anything or showing any emotions. They're just empty creatures with no personality or feelings, and the only reason they kill is because, at the beginning of the film, they were turned into zombies by some kind of toxic cloud (?). These children aren’t evil, nor do they have personalities, because they aren't human. So if you’re looking for a movie about mischievous kids instead of zombies, this isn’t it. What really stood out to me, however, is that the film seems to carry an underlying moral message. 'The Children' is mostly a straightforward horror film, but there's something peculiar about the adult characters when you consider them closely. Most of the children's parents are portrayed as unconventional people who don’t follow the rules and guess what happens to them... exactly what you would expect! We first see a lesbian couple (one of whom is also taking sedatives), then an uncaring mother who smokes marijuana and bares her breasts, and finally a man who appears to be gay and goes into town for no apparent reason. I wonder if these characters were made unusual just to add something extra or if there was some kind of hidden conservative agenda behind the story. Regardless, this movie is okay, and if you’re looking for simple entertainment, give 'The Children' a try... but don’t let them hug you, seriously!

Source on TMDB