Classic horror films like “The Omen,” “The Bad Seed,” and “The Good Son” proves that little kids can be demons. Director Nicholas McCarthy’s “The Prodigy” takes this concept a bit further with the idea that children can carry the past lives of demonic, psychotic souls. While parts of the movie lacks nail-biting jump scares, there is definitely a lot of family drama involved. “The Prodigy” is a psychological horror film, including lots of creepy elements within the storyline.

“The Prodigy” begins minutes after a ruthless serial killer (Paul Fauteux) is shot and killed in Ohio. Shortly after this bizarre event, a baby boy is born to a young married couple in Pennsylvania. Sarah (Taylor Schilling) and John Blume’s (Peter Mooney) “miracle child,” Miles (Jackson Robert Scott), was special from the minute he was born. His parents sacrificed everything to have him, and their unconditional love doesn’t stop once he begins to demonstrate disturbing behavior. Although Miles has extreme intelligence for his age (passing advanced test placement exams), his alarming traits begin to manifest when he turns eight years old. Miles’ frightening behavior begins when he tries to make a trap for his babysitter (Elisa Moolecherry) in his basement. As if this doesn’t scream creepy yet, we soon find out he suffers from night terrors, sleep-talking in Hungarian and flailing around in bed. Miles also has extreme anger issues to the point of hurting his schoolmates when he doesn’t get his way. The desperate parents get the attention of a reincarnation expert Dr. Arthur Jacobson (Colm Feore). Dr. Jacobson advises Sarah that a dark presence has taken over her son. The only way to get rid of the deranged spirit is to figure out who it is and what its motives are. The plot thickens from here as Sarah and John try to save their “prodigy.”

The actor that plays Miles is notable creepy and deranged, which makes the movie even better. Along with a-list actors, McCarthy’s directing is fantastic. I would definitely recommend seeing this film and bring a friend, just in case you get scared. “The Prodigy” is in theaters now.