''The Plague'' (also known as ''Clive Barker's The Plague'') is a 2006

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 Hal Masonberg and written by Masonberg and Teal Minton. It was produced by

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

Plot

In 1983, one day all of the world's children under the age of nine simultaneously fall into a catatonic state. For the next ten years, every child who is born, is born in a state of

catatonia Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...

. During this state, the children experience seizures twice a day which develops and maintains

muscle mass Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscle ...

. In 1993, all the children wake up in zombie-like state, unrelentingly pursuing, attacking and murdering all adults. Things are revealed to be even more dire as the children have both

superhuman strength Superhuman strength is a superpower commonly invoked in fiction and other literary works such as mythology. A fictionalized representation of the phenomenon of hysterical strength, it is the power to exert force and lift weights beyond what is ...

and some kind of

collective intelligence Collective intelligence (CI) is shared or group intelligence (GI) that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making. The term appears in sociobiology, politic ...

- what one learns, they all learn. The children's tactics quickly become more sophisticated. First, they disable the engines in almost every car and then set up roadblocks to stop the adults from escaping. Then, they learn how to use firearms. The children also take the souls of the ones they kill as a part of deliverance. The adults must find a way to stop them before it's too late.

Cast

James Van Der Beek James William Van Der Beek (; born March 8, 1977) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in the WB series ''Dawson's Creek'' and Johnny "Mox" Moxon in '' Varsity Blues'' (1999). He played a fictionalized version of hi ...

as Tom Russel *

Ivana Miličević Ivana Miličević (; born April 26, 1974) is a Bosnian Croat-American actress and model. She is best known for her starring roles in the Cinemax action drama series ''Banshee'' (2013–2016) and The CW science fiction drama series ''The 100'' (20 ...

as Jean Raynor * Brad Hunt as Sam Raynor *

Joshua Close Joshua Close (born 31 August 1981 in Oakville, Ontario) is a Canadian film and television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of t ...

as Kip * Brittany Scobie as Claire * Bradley Sawatzky as Nathan Burgandy * John P. Connolly as Sheriff Cal Stewart *

Dee Wallace Deanna Wallace (née Bowers; born December 14, 1948), also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mary Taylor, the mother in the 1982 blockbuster film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She is ...

as Nora * John Ted Wynne as Dr. Jenkins * Arne McPherson as David

Release

The Region 1

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

was released September 5, 2006. ''The Plague: Writer's & Director's Cut'', exists but has, to date, has remained unreleased.

Reception

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "But even as the premise of The Plague continues to titillate and intrigue, the film can’t quite deliver on its promise, rendering it slightly entertaining and ultimately forgettable." Steve Barton of

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "Clive Barker may have in some way produced this mess and lent his name to it, but rest assured there’s nothing Barker-esque about it. All that's here is a giant missed opportunity which — pardon the really bad, yet fitting pun — you should avoid like the plague." Scott Weinberg of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote that it does not live up the premise, instead "devolving into yet another (and very stale) zombie-type chase thriller". David Johnson of DVD Verdict wrote, "''The Plague'' is an inscrutable movie that starts out strong, but loses forward momentum, eventually grinding to an awkward halt."

References

External links