BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

GL84 Ten years after a weird plague, a recently-released ex-con and his ex-wife find that the formerly comatose children afflicted with a strange plague have suddenly awakened and gone on a vicious killing streak across town, forcing them to find a way to survive.While it did have some problems, there were some good points with it. One of the best ones is that this one really gets a lot out of the initial stages of the plague and the reactions here, from their comatose appearance and the daily grind of their preparations for the seizures, carries quite an impactful tone here as at times, it's pretty suspenseful. When the plague is wearing off and all the chaos starts, this is golden as there's plenty to like about those scenes with the abandoned high-school trying to overcome the massive influx of kids running around the hallways and into the different rooms here with the fantastic action encounters in the laundry room and out in the hallways leading to the first escape attempt. They're creepy, unnerving and quite unpredictable whenever they'll appear out of nowhere as it does manage to provide some nice gore while the film has a really impressive body count. There's a large number of kills in here, including a fantastic-looking broken leg that comes out of nowhere and the after-effects of many victims are often found with missing flesh and blood splattering the location very heavily, making them all entertaining. These, though, are the only good factors about it while this here did have a few pretty major problems. The film's biggest problem is that the film makes no sense at all as there's nothing at all offered here as to why the plague started or what the intent was. The consequences that apply are brought up in this, but none of them are officially given as to why this was going on, as well as why that particular target was affected by this plague. None of these areas or issues are ever explained in here, and they make the film seem like a slapdash effort with nothing important about it and not really that well thought-out. There's also a big explanation problem with the ending as this one simply ends with one of the most confusing moves possible. There's no way this is taken any way other than confusion, and this is one of the most upsetting aspects of the film. There are several other areas in here that don't work. The fact that this is simply a zombie movie without the fact that they're actually called zombies in the film. This has all the trappings of a zombie film through and through, with the same type of clichés that these films offer, as giving this as a zombie threat and made more sense. The last big problem was that the plot line about the two teens being mistaken for the children doesn't really come off that well. As it's a major plot-point, this really needed some big payoff to make it work and instead, it's a really weak one that doesn't serve the film any purpose other than to add to the body count. This here really had some big problems with it.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Uriah43 All across the world every child under the age of 9 is suddenly hit with a plague that sends them into a coma. They stay comatose for 10 years and then they all wake up at once. And they begin to kill all of the adults they see. Nobody knows the reason that only children under 9 are affected. Neither does anyone know why they have become like murderous zombies. All people know is that the only way to stop them from killing is to kill them first. Anyway, so much for the plot. As far as the movie itself was concerned, it had some good points and it had some bad points. First, I thought it was well directed, the acting was okay and it managed to maintain my interest from start to finish. On the other hand, there were quite a few questions left unanswered which really lowered the film's overall value. For example, it doesn't explain where the plague came from nor why the children suddenly woke up and started killing people. Likewise, the ending was equally puzzling. That said, regardless of whether explanations were deliberately omitted or not, it really caused the film to suffer. In short, this movie could have been much better if it made sense. But parts of it didn't and because of that I only give this film an average rating.

SnoopyStyle All the children in the world suddenly convulse and fall into comas. Nobody can have any more kids. Ten years later, all the coma kids suddenly wake up and attack.That's the premise. Lots of possibilities here but each one is somehow squandered. The religious angle of 'Laying of Hands' could be interesting. The ending could definitely be better explained. The act of 'Laying of Hands' is too cheap and where did that little kid come from? The generational angle is done the best. How do you expect the parents to fight against their own kids? Even here, the emotional punch is limited by 2nd rate filmmaking. The most disappointing are the chases. Like '28 Days Later', these guys are fast. That is great but it's shot with such lethargy. None of it is exciting or scary. This has so much potential, but delivers nothing. Letting them fire weapons is giving the coma kids too much power. Also it makes no sense when you consider they're trying to 'Lay Hands' on you.

Paul Andrews The Plague starts early one morning as the world's hospital's are flooded with worried parents, it appears that every child under nine in the entire world has lapsed into a coma without any explanation or apparent cause. Jump forward 'Ten Years Later' as every child since born from that point has been delivered comatose as well, with a UN ban on child birth the extinction of the human race has become a real possibility. Convicted murderer Tom Russell (James Van Der Beek) has just been released from prison & returns to his hometown of New Hampshire to stay with older brother David (Arne MacPherson) who is caring for his comatose son Eric (Chad Panting). Suddenly & unexpectedly all the comatose children wake up, moving in packs in complete silence they kill any adult they come across. Tom & his ex-wife Jean (Ivana Milicevic) decide to fight back & try to survive but it seems they are hopelessly outnumbered...Co-written & directed by Hal Masonberg I am in two minds over The Plague, on the one hand it definitely has it's moments & all the components are there for a good film but on the other hand it's an incredibly frustrating film to watch & the baffling ending basically ruins any good will you may have developed for it. Although the DVD cover says Clive Barker's The Plague he was only a producer & supposedly had very little involvement, it's also rumoured that the production company Screen Gems froze director Masonberg out of post production & he has since said this version of The Plague is not what he originally intended & has actually set up a website called Spreadingtheplague (add the dot's & com's yourself...) to tell his side of the story. Anyway, what we are left with is a bit of a muddle really. The film has some strong ideas that do hit home & are quite effective, the obvious one being all the children of the world suddenly going into comas & then waking up ten years later to slaughter all the adults but once the novelty factor has worn off The Plague turns into a standard zombie film with a small bunch of survivors on the run from hordes of zombie children. The film moves along at a decent enough pace & has a few effective moments but a few things drag it down. Firstly there's no explanation given as to why anything in the film happens, what causes the children to go into comas or why they re-awake or why they set about killing all the adults, some may like the ambiguity but I just found it annoying. Then there's the ending, to this point The Plague had been a natural phenomenon but the ending is far more supernatural as it deals with people making sacrifices & giving their soul's up to save other's in a really weird climax that doesn't make any sense whatsoever & will leave anyone having seen it totally baffled. I guarantee it. The sudden shifting from the natural to the supernatural is abrupt at best & confusing with it. The Plague starts off well enough, the mystery surrounding the comatose children draw's you in & it's unfortunate no answers or explanation is ever given for it & that left me deeply unsatisfied along with the baffling climax & final shot.Certainly well made with a basic yet functional visual style, The Plague looks slightly better than your average made for telly flick. There's not much in the way of gore here, there's a few blood splatters when various people get shot but little in the way of anything else. As already mentioned there are a few promising moments, rows of hospital beds in a school gym with comatose children in them who all convulse at the same time every day while the adult staff just carry on talking like it's normal or when they all wake up in unison although one has to say that if they were lying in bed for ten years surely they would have some muscle wastage & be far from the near unstoppable killing machines they suddenly become. The novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck features throughout the film but never having read it I don't know why although I suspect the two share similarities & themes.Filmed in Manitoba in Canada this has decent enough production values but nothing amazing, it's competently made for sure but unremarkable. The acting is alright, James Van Ber Beek seems to sleepwalk through his role while genre regular Dee Wallace has a small role.The Plague is a film that had potential & you can still see that on screen a few times but the lack of anything approaching an understandable plot & a baffling abstract ending left me ultimately unsatisfied & glad that I saw it on telly for free rather than pay any hard earned cash for it.