Please Don't Feed the Children

Mateu3.0

Please Don't Nepo The Babies

Spookie3.0

Felt like Flowers In the Attic and the People Under the Stairs had a love child with Mommy Dearest 28 Days Later. 🤷‍♀️

Daniel3.0

"Terrible guests."When a virus turning people into cannibals ravages the country and no cure can be found, the government orders all children, who transmit the virus, rounded up in camps. To find a way across the border, Mary (Zoe Colletti) teams up with a group of teenagers. When they find refuge at the home of nurse Clara (Michelle Dockery), who's not what she seems ...Please Don’t Feed the Children is a post-apocalyptic psychological thriller film directed by Destry Allyn Spielberg (in her feature film debut).Spielberg's movie is a commendable, but unfortunately also flawed feature film debut, which has a lot of unfullfilled potential. The opening is very rushed and heavy on exposition, almost making it feel like we're watching a sequel, and this beginning is supposed to remind us of what happened before.Luckily, Please Don’t Feed the Children doesn't go down the well-trodden dystopian teen drama road, defies expectations - which includes the ending - and has some surprises in store, occasionally nasty ones, although the big twist is very predictable. It's also rather well staged and filmed, with some excellent cinematography and an atmospheric film score.The movie's cast of unknown young actors is really impressive, and makes it work, despite its weak script. The highlight, however, is Michelle Dockery, who delivers a forceful and beautifully unhinged performance.Unfortunately, where the movie fails first and foremost, is worldbuilding. If you miss a passing mention during the opening credits voice over, there's going to be a bizarre moment late in the movie which will come entirely out of the blue and has not been properly prepared for.The story feels disjointed, and I was constantly wondering what rules this world has, what's normal and what isn't - did civilization break down or not? Has society regressed in some form or not? What's exactly going on with this virus? Without knowing the basic facts, many developments feel inconsequential, and that's really a shame, because the film could've turned out so much better.In conclusion, Please Don’t Feed the Children is a flawed, but commendable and well-directed first feature film by Destry Allyn Spielberg, and I'm really hoping it's the first of many because we can always need another Spielberg.