What happens when you take the concept of a zombie movie and replace the zombies with children? Well, you end up with a smart and chilling Spanish horror movie called Who can Kill a Child? (¿Quién puede matar a un niño?). In Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s 1978 horror movie a pair of British tourists arrive at a small rural island only to discover that all the children have turned on and killed all the adults. You might be thinking right now, “Oh great, an old Children of the Corn flick” and I’ll tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth.

The initial few minutes of Who Can Kill a Child? will let you know right off the bat that this is not a simple horror movie. During the opening the audience is provided with a montage of documentary footage that depicts atrocities that have been committed against children throughout the world. This is the only explanation we are ever given for what is to happen to, Tom (Lewis Fiander) and Evelyn (Prunella Ransome) and the children themselves.

When Tom and Evelyn arrive at the island they immediately encounter several of the children. The children mostly ignore the two adults. The young boys are somewhat sullen and the girls all grin and play in a creepy way. When Tom and Evelyn can not find any adults Tom comments that they must be off at a local festival. What makes this entire initial scene work is a combination of the stark daylight and the simple absence and loneliness of the village. Tom and Evelyn’s vacation changes fairly quickly when they discover a young child murdering an old man down the street. They realize that that everything is not right and they are soon running for their lives from the children.

I’ve already mentioned the daylight aspect of Who Can Kill a Child?. The entire movie takes place during the day and it completely proves that horror movies should not rely on the dark to create atmosphere. The bright of the afternoon can be just as chilling as the night. The second aspect of what makes this movie a success is the question proposed in the title. Throughout the second half of the movie this question comes into play. When Tom eventually kills one of the children Evelyn has a strong reaction to his actions. There was nothing else that Tom could do but this does not matter to her. This is not a horror movie where you cheer and applaud when the killer’s are taken down, instead you have to question whether you yourself would be able to kill a child.

In the scene where Tom kills the one child the rest of the children back off, not out of fear but out of caring and concern for their fallen comrade. It is in this scene that Serrador’s point is pushed home. All of the horrors adults have committed against children has finally found an outlet. It has taken over the children. The children are not mindless they still care about each other but they want revenge against the adults for all of their inhumanity they have shown in the past.