I Kill Giants (2018) Review

Intensity: 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Don Quixote meets Jack and the Beanstalk meets Calvin and Hobbes in the poignant gateway dark fantasy film I Kill Giants (2018).

Directed by Anders Walters

This is primal little kid scary.  OK… by that, I mean that this examines childhood fears and how one girl faces these fears.  This Belgian/Irish/American collaboration taps into some things that an outfit like Disney or Pixar knows, but is willing to go to a much darker place.  Growing up without parents can be a difficult and disturbing thing.  It is the stuff that makes up many of the great tales of the hero’s quest.  It informs Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Cinderella alike. 

I Kill Giants puts a decidedly harder edge turn on the story of Barbara (Madison Wolfe), a very nerdy girl. Her increasingly frustrated sister (Imogen Poots) raises Barbara, but the older sister cannot understand what the younger sibling is going through. This isolates Barbara from almost all social contacts.  Her relationship with her brother and caretaker sister is pushed to the breaking point, and she has no friends to speak of. Additionally, Barbara has an active belief that she is the defender of her town from evil giants that lurk just outside the vision of most mortals.

Barbara has been staking out her wooded coastal community with an assortment of giant traps. She has been working on testing and formulating bait from recipes probably derived from The Dungeon Masters Guide. (Hollah, if you know what I’m talking about!)  It isn’t particularly clear exactly how insane this little girl might be. Barbara has gone full Don Quixote, clearly feeling that she is uniquely assigned to be the protector of this Long Island Community. 

She finds herself her own little Sancho Panza, with the new English Girl in town, Sophia (Sydney Wade… completely adorable). Sophia gamely buys into the bravado and tales of wonder that Barabara spins.  This movie isn’t a comedy, but watching Wolfe and Wade play off each other will make you smile.  Barbara is so earnest in her beliefs, and Sophia is so loyal that they are a perfect pair.  She mesmerizes young Sophia, and this is just the kind of support she has needed to pursue her plans.

Barbara also fosters a curious fascination with An early 20th Century Philadelphia Phillie Harry Covaleski (notably not Stan Covaleski… also an old major league player) who has a very apropos connection to the plot of this fable.  Anders Walters slowly pieces together some of the puzzle that is Barbara’s life, and each new revelation raised my eyebrows. A very clever script.  The film never caught me by surprise, but I enjoyed the story’s pacing. 

Her odd antics have drawn the attention of her school’s counselor, Mrs. Molle (Zoe Saldana). Molle recognizes that this child is in trouble and attempts to befriend Barbara and get to the bottom of her anti-social behavior. She asks Barbara all our questions about why Barabara is such an odd kid. Add in a bully, and you have the recipe for some prime drama. It all unfurls as the giants, and reality, begin to close in on Barabara and the village.

Is this a horror movie?  I don’t think I would go that far.  But I think this makes a fantastic gateway scary film for young children. The movie renders the giants quite impressively, though there is a big titan that looks rather transformer-ish.  There are times when you fear for Barbara, as her go-it-alone strategies put her into perilous situations, both real and imagined. 

Barbara has an imagination that runs completely wild, and to me, it reminds me of Calvin, minus Hobbes (Unless Sophia counts as Hobbes).  Calvin had an imagination that just flooded out from him, and he had no idea how to handle other kids or adults, and his imagination transformed into some spectacular situations.  The same thing applies here, but with the added concern that you think that Barabara may just do something foolish enough to get herself killed. And… you’re never completely certain that what she’s seeing isn’t real.

They might be giants. (Cue Birdhouse in your soul, for those in the know.)

Remember, the first scary stories that get told to young children are fairy tales. And this plays out like a quasi-modern fairy tale, with a touch of Lewis Caroll madness.  A brave… probably too brave…young teen facing down some pretty big fears, giants and otherwise.  This movie is based on a much-loved graphic novel by Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Niimura.  However, the images are gorgeous, and if the storytelling is anything like the movie, I will pick this up from my local comic book store. 

I Kill Giants is not rated, but it would probably be PG, maybe PG-13 for intensity.  If you have kids who want to see something scary but aren’t ready for a real horror movie, this is a fine starter kit.  It is a fine coming-of-age tale, but be warned, some bittersweet moments in it may take some explaining to younger, sensitive kids. If your kids enjoy Harry Potter movies and can handle that level of intensity, they’ll probably really enjoy this.

This movie is available on multiple streaming platforms.  iTunes, Hulu, and Amazon.

Review by Eric Li