There's Something Wrong With The Children Trailer: The Creepy Kid Genre Intensifies

A cabin in the woods, a struggling marriage, and two giggling children who are ominously covered in blood? The upcoming Blumhouse and EPIX collaboration has all the elements for disaster, so it's no wonder that it slots firmly into the horror/psychological thriller genres. It certainly doesn't help that the title alludes to one of horror's most reliable sources of dread, "There's Something Wrong with the Children."

Before supernatural horror even becomes a factor in the plot this film already has one of the most horrifying premises imaginable. When two couples head into the woods for a weekend getaway, one duo convinces the other to watch their children for the night while they take time to hash out some martial issues. Isn't the thought of unanticipated babysitting responsibilities terrifying?! Unfortunately, it only gets worse from here. Somehow, the babysitting couple loses sight of the children in the woods and when they're finally retrieved, something seems terribly wrong.

If creepy kids are where you draw the line, then consider this a very unsafe space. But on the other hand, it might turn out to be a very validating experience — based on the trailer, a good chunk of the movie is Zach Gilford trying to convince his wife and friends that those kids aren't actually cute because they're obviously possessed. He might be right, but that attempt goes about as well as expected. You can see for yourself in the trailer below.

Thanks to a lifelong suspicion of children, director Roxanne Benjamin was thrilled to helm the film. She recently explained to EW, "I've always had a wariness with kids, just because they're in their own world, and they don't necessarily conform to any social norms, there's something that's eerie about that." She also gave some credit to the 1993 Macaulay Culkin-led psychological thriller, adding "Also, I saw 'The Good Son' at a very opportune age where it was just super scary to me."

Benjamin, who began her career by producing "V/H/S" and its sequel "V/H/S/2," has had a busy few years in the realm of eerie filmmaking, with credits that include "Creepshow," "Riverdale," "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," and her feature directorial debut, "Body at Brighton Rock." "There's Something Wrong with the Children" marks her big followup to the 2019 film, which /Film gave a glowing review.

Written by "V/H/S Viral" and "Intruders" collaborators, T.J. Cimfel and Dave White, "There's Something Wrong with the Children" comes from executive producers Jason Blum, Josh Reinhold, Jeremy Gold, and Chris McCumber. The film features stars Alisha Wainwright ("Raising Dion"), Zach Gilford ("Midnight Mass"), Amanda Crew ("Silicon Valley"), Carlos Santos ("Gentefied"), Briella Guiza ("Ambulance") and David Mattle ("Life & Beth").

"There's Something Wrong with the Children" will be available digitally and on-demand, starting January 17, 2023. The film will later arrive to MGM+ on March 17, 2023.

When Margaret (Alisha Wainwright) and Ben (Zach Gilford) take a weekend trip with longtime friends Ellie (Andrew Crew) and Thomas (Carls Santos) and their two young children (Briella Guiza and David Mattle), Ben begins to suspect something supernatural is occurring when the kids behave strangely after disappearing into the woods overnight.