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I don’t remember Leif Garrett apologizing to any of his Devil Times Five victims in his Behind The Music special.

Evil children were a big thing in 1970s cinema. From the major blockbusters like The Omen and The Exorcist to obscure little films like Devil Times Five, the decade was filled with monstrous children ready to kill without blinking an eye. Some have remained classics, while ones like Devil Times Five floundered in obscurity. Now it’s on DVD and, well, truth be told, while it has its moments, it was probably better off living off its legend.

The plot of this slasher-tyke film is pretty simple. A quintet of mentally disturbed children (including future tabloid target Leif Garrett) escape captivity after the transport van they’re in has an accident. They find refuge with a group of rich middle-aged people who are vacationing at a resort. Before too long, the kids’ true nature is exposed. They begin offing the grown-ups in increasingly elaborate death-traps.

There are hints of a decent horror film here, but they’re trampled under total incompetence and chaos in the writing and directing departments. Several cast and crew members are on board in interviews and commentaries, and none mince words about the initial director Sean MacGregor, who was replaced after his original version ended up being a 40-minute mess.

All that said, this Code Red release is tolerable. While it’s not a good movie, it’s interesting to watch just to see the potential that was there. The aforementioned commentaries and interviews are the main special features, though we also get the original trailer, an alternate credit opening, and a poster gallery. Not bad stuff.

Devil Times Five will never compete against its more-famous contemporaries in the whole “killer kid” genre, but it’s worth a watch – bad as parts of it are – just to see what it could have been.

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