''Children of Sorrow'' is a 2012

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by Jourdan McClure and part of the

After Dark Originals After Dark Films is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Courtney Solomon and Allan Zeman in 2006. History The company is the organizer for the annual independent horror film festival ''After Dark Horrorf ...

series. The movie had its world release on October 6, 2012 at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival and was released to DVD on March 4, 2014 through Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film stars

Bill Oberst Jr. William Oberst Jr. (born November 21, 1965) is an American stage, film and television actor of German descent. Known for his work in horror and cult films, his career includes projects in film, television and one-man-show theater performances. ...

as a twisted cult leader.

Synopsis

Desperate to discover what has become of her sister Janet, Ellen (Hannah Levien) infiltrates Simon Leach's (

) cult. All she knows is that her sister was last seen joining his group to find herself, only to go missing after joining. Ellen is welcomed with open arms and although her initial intent is to search for her sister, she finds herself drawn to Simon's magnetic personality and message of love and acceptance. However what she soon discovers is that she, along with all of the cult's companionship-hungry members, is being manipulated to a more sinister and dark end than she could have predicted.

Cast

as Simon Leach * Hannah Levien as Ellen * Whitney Nielsen as Mary * Galen Howard as Alan *

Liesel Hanson The name Liesel is short for Elizabeth. The name was most popular during the 17th century. Liesel can also refer to: *Liesl Von Trapp, a character in '' The Sound of Music'' *Liesel Meminger, a character in The Book Thief *Liesel Matthews (born Li ...

as Robin *

Peabo Powell ''Peabo'' is the debut album by soul vocalist Peabo Bryson. Luther Vandross and Cissy Houston were among the background vocalists on this album. Reception Released in 1976 on Bullet Records, this was Bryson's only album with the label befo ...

as Frank *

Daniel Mentz Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength ...

as Evan * Jaquelyn Johnson as Tracey *

Rachel Orlikoff Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her ...

as Grace *

Martha Brigham Martha ( Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...

as Veronica * Nich Kauffman as Ben *

Jefferson Rogers Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

as Brian

Reception

'' Fearnet'' gave ''Children of Sorrow'' a mixed review, praising Oberst as one of the film's highlights while commenting that the film did "sag in the middle". ''

Film School Rejects Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006. The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...

'' panned the film overall, remarking that it "reveals the ending in the first few minutes, has a nonsensical screenplay, and is edited like a narrative film thus defeating the purpose of the found footage format". The reviewer also noted that "For what it’s worth, the director of the film claims it isn’t found-footage, so there’s that."

Awards

*''Best Actor Award'' at the Shockfest Film Festival (2012, won - Bill Oberst Jr) *''The Shocker Award'' at the Shockfest Film Festival (2012, won) *''Best Feature'' at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival (2012, won) *''Best Acting in a Feature'' at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival (2012, won)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1942828 2012 horror films 2012 films