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A Child Only A Mother Could Love...

For a 17 year old girl, Jodelle Ferland has defined herself in the horror genre extremely well. Playing a troubled child that was sacrificed to a cult in lent Hill (2006); she kick started her career in horror films. After this, she continued on to have roles in The Messengers (2007), Seed (2007) and Case 39 (2009).



Out of all the films she has been in, I liked the character she played in Case 39 the best. There’s something quite pleang about having a little girl play a demon who feeds on the kindness of strangers. And when I say feeds itself I mean she kills everyone who cares about her. It’s not even standard killings either - she gets to know her subject and finds out what really scares them. So in one scene involving a Mr. Bradley Cooper, his character finds himself having hundreds of hornets pour out of his eye sockets. On screen it doesn’t look too bad, but the thought of having anything in my eye creeps me the fuck out. The character of Lilith Sullivan is definitely top of my list of creepy children in horror films. Sure, she doesn’t look very evil in the majority of the film, but when she transforms into her natural demon self, you will be able to see why she’s made it to the top of my list.



Speaking of looking creepy, I don’t think that anyone else could have pulled off her roles in lent Hill as well as she did. If you haven’t seen the film then just know that she plays two characters – one a normal child, and the other a murdered child with a dark past. It’s amazing to see her play such different characters in so little time, it really allows the viewers to see just how much effort she puts into her more menacing roles. In this film especially, she completely overpowers the rest of the cast. I put this down to her nister stares and her blank expresons. It’s always hard to figure out what the character is feeling when they’re not giving anything away. This is what makes Jodelle so fascinating to watch on screen. Not only is it her acting skill that sets her apart from everyone else, it’s the way she looks. Her long, dark hair and pale complexion contrast so much she looks ghostly and ethereal without all of the makeup on. I couldn’t imagine any other child actress playing her roles in this film; they just wouldn’t be able to pull it off.



Ade from her success in the horror film world, she has made a name for herself in the world of horror televion too.

Posbly her biggest role came from Kingdom Hospital (2004), when she played the ghost of a murdered child. Other TV shows she has been in are; The Collector (2004), Dead Like Me (2003), Supernatural (2005) and of course the glorious Masters of Horror (2005). It’s a shame that apart from Kingdom Hospital, all of her other televion roles are more guest appearances, rather than a more permanent potion.

I've got a feeling that 2012 is going to be a great year for her with Cabin in the Woods (2011) and The Tall Man (2012) coming out. I'm especially looking forward to the latter, mainly because I have a thing with strange men kidnapping little girls, but that's just me. Not much information has surfaced about this film yet so obviously there has been some controversy with Marble Hornet's fans accung the film to be a rip-off of Slender Man. lly fans, don't they know that stories of entities kidnapping children have been around nce forever?

I don’t know whether it’s personal preference or that she’s being typecast into these roles, but whichever one it is I do hope that she continues to act in the horror genre.

I think she did a great job in both Kingdom Hospital and lent Hill, and while she did indeed do a good job in Case 39, that film took a downward spiral around the halfway point, and just couldn't get it's head back above the surface. The death you mentioned in fact, is the point where the film loses any credibility at all, but that's my opinion. I'll be interested to see her in Cabin In The Woods, though I'm not sure what my thoughts on that film are yet, if I'm excited or not, I can't really tell. I can't wait until she gets another four or five years on her, to see where she goes from there, be it typically 20-some hot chick in a Platinum Dunes film, or if she goes the way of my favorite Hollywood crush, Danielle Harris, and continue to grab the genre by the balls and squeeze.

Loved Kingdom Hospital, and it's nice to see kids who get their feet wet in horror growing into the genre as they get older. Too many turn their back on it for fear of being typecast.