CHILD IN THE NIGHT

US, 1990, 90 minutes, Colour.
Jo Beth Williams, Tom Skerritt, Elijah Wood, Darren Mc Gavin, Season Hubley.
Directed by Mike Robe.

Child in the Night is a murder mystery, a telemovie designed for the home audience. It focuses on a child psychologist, played by JoBeth? Williams, counselling a child who may or may not have witnessed his father's murder. Tom Skerritt is the detective.

The film is significant in introducing Elijah Wood to the screen. As Wood moved from being a child into his teens, he appeared in a number of significant films including Avalon, The Ice Storm. Darren Mc Gavin appears as the villain.

1.Interesting and entertaining murder mystery? Identifying with the child witnessing his father's death? His trauma? His blaming himself for not calling out?

2.The title, the focus on the child? The threat to the child? The strength of Elijah Wood's screen presence and performance?

3.The settings, home, the wharves, the hospital, the apartments? Audiences identifying with the characters and the situation?

4.Luke, relationship with his father, going to the office, the chat about pizza, hearing the attack, hiding, witnessing his father's death, not being able to tell the police? The care of the child psychologist? His trusting her? Yet the inability to be hypnotised? His relationship with his mother? His fear, the further murders? Running away from home, ringing the psychologist, hiding in the office? The appearance of his grandfather, the threats, his calling out to save the psychologist? His pleading for his grandfather?

5.The psychologist, her being called out, treatment of Luke, the coat for his father? Her unwillingness to go to the case? Her being commanded to go? Her relationship with Luke, trying to get to the bottom of the trauma, the failed hypnosis? The further murders, the crash in the car, the support of Bass? The phone call, going to the warehouse, her being attacked and wounded, the confrontation with Os? The rescue?

6.Bass as detective, his abilities, treatment of the child, the further murders, his assistants? The relationship with the psychologist? The final rescue?

7.The family background, the father and his relationships, the wife and her resentment, the relationship with her father-in-law? The relationship to their son? The lead-up to the violence?

8.Os, his relationship with his son, with his daughter-in-law, the revelation of the affair? Love for his grandson? His mental troubles, his son taking his company from him, institutions and treatment? The affair, the murder, the confrontation with the psychologist and the revelation of the truth?

9.Popular ingredients for a murder mystery, psychological understandings, detection?