Backdrop image for movie Children of Darkness

Children of Darkness (1983)

A significant number of American children and teenagers - from all social backgrounds - suffer from mental disorders, schizophrenia, autism and emotional problems, leading them to isolation from society while treating their issues in mental health facilities. But there's no end in sight for those young individuals when they face obstacles and mistreatment in inadequate places under the supervision of careless and inexperienced professionals. The documentary follows some of those public mental institutions and another private center dealing with troubled kids and reveals what's wrong with their procedures, and the irreparable harm they cause in those patients.

  • Documentary

Top billed cast

  • Photo of Peter ThomasPeter ThomasNarrator (voice)
  • Photo of Richard KotukRichard KotukSelf - Reporter
  • Photo of John BrooksJohn BrooksSelf
  • Photo of Billy CalhounBilly CalhounSelf
  • Photo of Mary CalhounMary CalhounSelf
  • Photo of Gerald DavidsonGerald DavidsonSelf
  • Photo of Alice DunnAlice DunnSelf
  • Photo of Kenneth KaufmanKenneth KaufmanSelf
  • Photo of Brian McanallyBrian McanallySelf
  • Photo of Jim McanallyJim McanallySelf

Similar to Children of Darkness

Backdrop image for movie The Case of Bruno Lüdke

The Case of Bruno Lüdke (2021)

The incredible story of Bruno Lüdke (1908-44), the alleged worst mass murderer in German criminal history; or actually, a story of forged files and fake news that takes place during the darkest years of the Third Reich, when the principles of criminal justice, subjected to the yoke of a totalitarian system that is beginning to collapse, mean absolutely nothing.

  • Documentary
  • History
  • TV Movie
Backdrop image for movie Blush: An Extraordinary Voyage

Blush: An Extraordinary Voyage (2022)

For 18-year-old Finnish–Kosovan Fatu, a simple visit to the grocery store feels as nerve-racking as a lunar expedition: for the first time in his life, he’s wearing makeup in public. Luckily his best friend Rai, a young woman on the spectrum of autism, is there to ferociously support him through the voyage.

  • Documentary
  • Animation
Backdrop image for movie Shipbuilder

Shipbuilder (1985)

This film recreates the true story of Tom Sukanen, an eccentric Finnish immigrant who homesteaded in Saskatchewan in the 1920s and 1930s. Sukanen spent ten years building and moving overland a huge iron ship that was to carry him back to his native Finland. The ship never reached water.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh

Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh (2019)

In his first HBO comedy special, Gary Gulman offers candid reflections on his struggles with depression through stand-up and short documentary interludes. While speaking to issues of mental health, Gulman also offers his observations on a number of topics, including his admiration for Millennial attitudes toward bullying, the intersection of masculinity and sports, and how his mother's voice is always in his head.

  • Comedy
  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie The Hugo's Brain

The Hugo's Brain (2012)

The Hugo's Brain is a French documentary-drama about autism. The documentary crosses authentic autistic stories with a fiction story about the life of an autistic (Hugo), from childhood to adulthood, portraying his difficulties and his handicap.

  • Documentary
  • TV Movie
Backdrop image for movie Tarnation

Tarnation (2003)

Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.

  • Documentary
  • Drama
Backdrop image for movie Communion

Communion (2016)

When adults are ineffectual, children have to grow up quickly. Ola is 14 and she takes care of her dysfunctional father, autistic brother and a mother who lives apart from them and is mainly heard the phone. Most of all she wants to reunite a family that simply doesn’t work — like a defective TV set. She lives in the hope of bringing her mother back home. Her 13 year old brother Nikodem’s Holy Communion is a pretext for the family to meet up. Ola is entirely responsible for preparing the perfect family celebration. “Communion” reveals the beauty of the rejected, the strength of the weak and the need for change when change seems impossible. This crash course in growing up teaches us that failure is not final. Especially when love is in question.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie The Horse Boy

The Horse Boy (2009)

Filmmaker Michel Orion Scott captures a magical journey into a little-known world, in a documentary which chronicles Rupert Isaacson and Kristin Neff's personal odyssey to make sense of their child's autism, and find healing for him and themselves in the unlikeliest of places.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie Crazywise

Crazywise (2017)

Western culture treats mental disorders primarily through biomedical psychiatry, but filmmakers Phil Borges and Kevin Tomlinson reveal a growing movement of professionals and survivors who are forging alternative treatments that focus on recovery and turning mental “illness” into a positive transformative experience.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie Autism: The Musical

Autism: The Musical (2007)

Follows five autistic children as they work together to create and perform a live musical production.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie A Greater Chance

A Greater Chance (2024)

Upon learning of his father's terminal illness diagnosis, a young, autistic, hearing-impaired artist travels back to Taiwan with a filmmaker to make a film in his honour.

  • Family
  • Documentary
  • Drama
Backdrop image for movie What Should We Have Done?

What Should We Have Done? (2023)

In 1983, the director’s 24-year-old sister developed symptoms of schizophrenia. Her parents couldn’t accept it—refusing to seek treatment for their sick child, they confined her to their house, to the point of even fixing a padlock on the front door to lock her in. Her younger brother, suspicious of his parents’ actions, began filming the family in an effort to openly question them. A family conflict that lasted over twenty years.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie Attila

Attila (2023)

Filmmaker Stephen Hosier takes a journey with Richard Csanyi, his childhood friend, as he investigates the life and death of his twin brother Attila, who was found dead on a rooftop in 2020.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie The Reason I Jump

The Reason I Jump (2020)

Based on the book by Naoki Higashida, filmmaker Jerry Rothwell examines the lives of five non-speaking, autistic youngsters.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie Sparni

Sparni (2023)

It’s the second semester of junior year for Pierce “Sparni” Sparnroft, a gifted jazz vibraphonist studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Sparni’s prospects on the vibes were rejuvenated by their new professor, the world-renowned Steve Nelson, and are to be showcased during a student-driven recital in May 2023. But all the while, Sparni must face a crisis within.

  • Documentary
  • Music
Backdrop image for movie Three Identical Strangers

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.

  • Documentary
Backdrop image for movie Life on the Spectrum

Life on the Spectrum (2022)

Autism Speaks Canada remains committed to building inclusive communities where autistic Canadians can reach their full potential. We are excited to share “Life on The Spectrum by Autism Speaks Canada” with you today. In this 20 minute documentary, we share lived experiences of autistic Canadians and their families, from coast to coast to coast, to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism. First, we start with the land acknowledgement and then visit our autistic friends and their families across Canada. Join us on this journey to explore “Life on the Spectrum”.

  • Documentary