The Fair Haired Child (2006) Review

The Fair Haired Child was directed by William Malone (who also directed House on Haunted Hill, FearDotCom, Parasomnia and Scared to Death) and stars Lori Petty (from Dead Awake, Route 666, Bates Motel), Lindsay Pulsipher (from The Oregonian) and Walter Phelan (from Alien Abduction, Eyes of the Woods). It’s about a lonely teen who finds herself locked in a cellar with a suicidal stranger and a supernatural psycho soul sucker.

I first saw Fair Haired Child sitting on the shelf of a Blockbuster years ago. I was grabbed by that cover! But I couldn’t rent it because I was the only one who liked horror in my family. Over the years I kept spotting it from time to time, but timing was just never right. Until last night. I’m sitting there scrolling through Amazon Prime when BOOM… that cover! And nobody else was around to roll their eyes at me! The time had come.

Fair Haired was originally a Masters of Horror episode, so it’s only a 55 min show. But it’s everything I had hoped it would be. It’s a dark, suspenseful and artistic horror similar in concept to Pet Sematary or The Darkness (just with more abductions, killings and religious ceremonies). The characters, acting, visuals and the pacing were all on point. Everything worked.

The practical effects were 50/50. They worked when the creature was partially hidden and still a mystery. But once in full view it was kind of silly. Of course the same can be said about a lot of horrors with practical effects. But I’m personally a fan of practical effects and didn’t think the silliness hurt the vibe at all. If anything it was reminiscent of horrors of the past. Overall it was a short ‘n sweet horror flick.