Child in the Night (1990)

Such a frustrating disappointment

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Blistering performances.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

In absolute honesty, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that i wouldn't have even considered watching if it wasn't for the kid that i would debate with ANYBODY is the greatest child actor in movie history. Elijah Wood. And really it took me a while to finally sit down and watch it because i knew i had to. This movie had all the hype of your stereotypical whodunit crime movie that plays late at night. When i sat down and watched it I tried to look past that. I first noticed that i began to really get into the relationship of Luke (Elijah) and the psychologist, which i really wasn't expecting to get that much into the characters. Like all of his movies I really felt for the character Elijah portrayed and hoped everything would work out at the end. I did see flaws in some of the acting and some cliché's followed and I cant help but be lenient about it considering I wouldn't think of it as a "Professional grade movie". Although, With every child movie Elijah wood was in that I watched (almost all of them), It ALWAYS seemed to have an emotional effect on me that night and sometimes even the next morning. With this movie i feel as though its just a "EH, that was pretty good". I'm glad to say i have seen it and i would certainly recommend it to the correct people. But like i said; i couldn't see myself watching this and really appreciating it if it wasn't for Elijah wood being in it.

I nearly enjoyed this movie until the very end for what it was-a TV movie on a late Friday night on Lifetime Movies. Great performances all around, and Elijah Wood a standout. I love JoBeth Williams and Tom Skerritt in these type of roles in general.Then the ending came. It was so far out there that it ruined the entire film for me. Considering how suspenseful it had been until now, that says a lot about the ending. It just appeared fake. The only way to describe the weird ending is that it seems the CryptKeeper suddenly appears and does his thing to this normal cast. If you see it, you will understand what I mean.

The eight year-old boy Luke (Elijah Wood) goes with his father to his company and witnesses his murder by a man with a hook. Detective T. Bass (Tom Skerritt) is in charge of the investigation and summons Dr. Hollis (JoBeth Williams) to help him assisting the boy trying to get the identity of the killer. However, the boy fantasizes the murderer as the Captain Hook, in a escapism from the traumatic reality. Dr. Hollis gets closes to Luke and has an affair with Bass while he investigates the crime. They find that Luke's family is dysfunctional and there is a dispute among the friends of his father. But soon the killer attacks again and there are many suspects. Who might be the killer?The suspenseful "A Child in the Night" is a good thriller supported by a great cast. JoBeth Williams, Tom Skerritt and Elijah Wood in his debut have great performances. The plot holds the attention of the view but the conclusion is disappointing. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Testemunha Silenciosa" ("Silent Witness")Note: On 8 December 2016, I saw this film again.

Very well-done TV movie. I've always been a fan of Jobeth Williams, and she didn't disappoint here. I really didn't know whodunit until I was supposed to, which is rare in this genre of story. Darin McGavin was perfect, as was Tom Skerrit. This was also, I believe, the first major role for 9-year-old Elijah Wood, and it's a foreshadowing of the kind of talent that he is. Even at this age, he shows his moxy. I'd recommend this to anyone.