Nathan is yelled at, scoffed at, and told he’d better not mess up. The kid just lost both his parents, his home, and his friends. So this is not so much an orphanage, but something out of Oliver Twist. He’s getting no counseling or any sort of compassion. The things he’s doing are minor, such as doodling in class or leaving his room at night, but the staff go ballistic on the poor kid.
The only one who treats him well is Judy, who is supposed to evaluate him. But Mr. Clemons decides he doesn’t need her input and throws Nathan into B ward, which is for troubled children. Nathan doesn’t want to be in B ward. Nobody wants to be in Ward B. The kids in A ward says the place is haunted, plus the kids in B seem totally out of it.
It’s never clear why the staff are so hostile or what is really going on. What do they get from harming the children? Why is no help offered to a child who just lost his parents? Why did they hire Judy to do evaluations when she is a caring person and everyone else is abusive? Wouldn’t it have been better to hire someone on the same page who wants to destroy children? When the Department of Family Services comes to check on Nathan, why don’t they actually check in on him? They walk the grounds with Mr. Clemons, but never talk to or even see Nathan.
At first I thought this was going to be a rip off of Guillermo del Toro’s The Devils Backbone. It starts so similarly. A child in an orphanage which is supposed to be haunted and has an abusive staff. Then the child wanders down to the pool at night and is surrounded by creepy children. Argh! Ghosts! Nope, there’s nothing haunted about this place. It’s just a bunch of horrible adults who, for reasons never explained, are all okay with abusing and murdering children.
No comments:
Post a Comment