Respond to these rapid questions in our The Prodigy quiz and we will tell you which The Prodigy character you are. Play it now.
One of the taglines on the posters for “The Prodigy,” which is a new horror film about a child who becomes possessed, is “There’s something wrong with Miles.” That is a significant understatement, and not only for the obvious reasons. Throughout “The Prodigy,” Miles is the center of attention. The film was written and directed by Jeff Buhler (“Midnight Meat Train”), and it stars Miles as the center of attention (“The Pact”). Miles, on the other hand, is never memorable enough to be worth caring about. He’s also not frightening because his actions appear to be motivated solely by Buhler’s desire to reach the next predetermined plot point in a horror film. Even worse, McCarthy’s direction is so sleepy that several key scenes fizzle out before they have a chance to pay off with the next big jump scare. In the end, “The Prodigy” fails to engage audiences because Buhler’s scenario is too predictable to be engaging, and McCarthy’s direction is too indecisive to be enthralling. One of these two problems might have been manageable on its own, but dealing with them both at the same time is lethal.
Among the most dangerous characters is Miles (Jackson Robert Scott), an eight-year-old prodigy who, according to the film, is super-smart in some unspecified areas but developmentally delayed in others that remain unclear. Realistically, it’s difficult to figure out what’s wrong with Miles because Buhler doesn’t explain what’s wrong with him. As evidenced by his skittish interactions with his understandably concerned mother Sarah, it appears that Miles may be on the autism spectrum (Taylor Schilling). Then again, you might think Miles appears to be an ordinary young man until he begins cursing Sarah in Hungarian, attacking another child with a pipe wrench, and acting strangely toward the family’s canine companion.
Besides, you’d be wrong because “The Prodigy” is a horror film that follows closely the formula for Evil Kid Flicks that emerged after “The Omen” and continues to this day. You’re probably familiar with the following formula, even if you haven’t thought of it as such before: Violence is born to a young mother by a violent child. Despite the fact that Kind Doctors discover early signs of concern for Violent Child, they reassure Young Mother that there is nothing to be concerned about at this time; As soon as Violent Child begins to act erratically, Young Mother becomes concerned enough to seek advice from Well-Meaning Spiritualist (Colm Feore), who informs Young Mother that Violent Child has been transformed into a vessel for Big Evil. Until more Bad Stuff happens, Young Mother refuses to believe Well-Meaning Spiritualist. When more Bad Stuff happens, Young Mother takes matters into her own hands, by which time it is either too late or not possible to help Violent Child any longer.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this The Prodigy quiz.
I’m well aware that outlining the plot of this type of film is akin to berating professional wrestling matches for their apparent scripted nature. What’s the point? We’re all aware that the fights are rigged and that the wrestlers are simply actors on the mat. I appreciate your concern, but I want to reassure viewers that there is nothing more to “The Prodigy” than what I have just described to you. And, to be completely honest, I tried my hardest to like this film, having previously enjoyed films by both Buhler and McCarthy. I also tried to ignore all of the little tropes and jump scares that Buhler and McCarthy borrowed from earlier horror films, sometimes blatantly, as in almost shot-for-shot nods to lesser-known films, such as Mario Bava’s “Shock” and Damiano Damiani’s “Amityville II: The Possession,” and instead focused on the story. For the sake of suspending my disbelief long enough to become emotionally invested in these types of characters once more, I concentrated on what I was looking at on a moment-to-moment basis.
The Prodigy Quiz
It is tedious to watch Sarah and her emotionally distant husband John (Peter Mooney) interact with one another. It is even more tedious to think about Sarah and John. These individuals don’t just make careless decisions, such as wandering into the wrong dark room or engaging in a staring contest with the wrong possessed child; rather, they commit heinous crimes. Sarah and John, on the other hand, are underdeveloped characters. So preoccupied with the familiarity of their scenario, Buhler and McCarthy fail to explain why Sarah immediately accepts the judgment of Feore’s hypnotist, or how exactly John was harmed as a result of his childhood neglect (we can guess, but you get what I mean). It’s all barely simmering beneath the surface of the film because “The Prodigy” is primarily concerned with Miles’ pointless terrorization of other uninteresting characters.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this The Prodigy quiz.
So if there’s anything wrong with Miles, it’s that his creators aren’t doing much with him at the moment. After all, Violent Children are terrifying, so they expect viewers to be impressed by his antics. Unfortunately, the film’s scare scenes aren’t even well-executed: an ostensibly creepy walk down a dark stairway appears to take an eternity before it climaxes with the most obvious jump scare imaginable, despite the fact that the film is set in the dark. “The Prodigy” was not created by a group of incompetent directors. However, this does not make it any less incorrect.
For more personality quizzes check this: Late Night Quiz.
