Cinema
Who Can Kill a Child?
¿Quién puede matar a un niño?
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador · 1976
Synopsis
Benavis, a small town on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Tom and Evelyn, an English-speaking tourist couple expecting their third child, she seven months pregnant, want a few days' rest and take a boat to the island of Almanzora, where Tom stayed as a child. From the moment they arrive, everything seems strange: the village looks as though it was abandoned in haste, chickens have burned in the oven of a deserted bar, and the only people to be met in the streets are silent children, with no trace of an adult.
Context
The film adapts a novel by Juan José Plans, which the author brought to the screen under his screenwriting pseudonym, Luis Peñafiel; the music is by Waldo de los Ríos. It opens with real photographs of children who were victims of wars and famines, over which the credits run. Lewis Fiander and Prunella Ransome play the couple. It is the second and last feature film by its director, who had made his name mainly in television. Outside Spain, it has circulated under several titles in English.
Who it is for
A horror film in which dread arises from an empty village and silent children; the title puts the film's question to the viewer.
Prizes and reception
Less of a commercial success in Spain than abroad; now regarded as a classic of Spanish and international horror cinema.