Amelia’s Children (or A Semente do Mal, its original title) is a 2023 film written and directed by Gabriel Abrantes, an American-born filmmaker now based out of Portugal. While Abrantes has made over two dozen short films since 2006, Amelia’s Children is the first “horror” film in their catalog, which may be both a boon and a bane for the film. Amelia’s Children made its debut at the Lisbon International Horror Film Festival in September of 2023 before being brought stateside in March of 2024 by Magnet Releasing.

After a fairly high-tech home DNA test matches him with his long-lost mother and identical twin brother, Ed (Carloto Cotta, in multiple roles) and his partner*, Riley (Jack Haven, here credited as Bridget Lundy-Paine) travel from America to Portugal to meet his newfound family for the first time. His arrival leads to many surprising revelations for Ed, such as learning that his mother (the titular Amelia) is a rather wealthy woman, and that he was kidnapped and stolen from his mother as a baby. Granted, none of this is much of a revelation for viewers as the abduction takes place in the film’s opening sequence.

*I don’t believe if it’s ever said if our couple are married or not, but I assure you that it’s of no importance.

However, the biggest shock for both Ed and viewers is that in the years since his abduction, Amelia has massively disfigured herself through multiple plastic surgery procedures in an attempt to stave off aging and is now a far cry from the beautiful young woman seen in the film’s opening. So far, in fact, that this aged version of Amelia is played by an entirely different actress. Before you even ask, yes, the difference is quite noticeable.

It’s soon revealed that Ed’s new family is even more bizarre than they initially appear and that Amelia’s reunion with her child is not quite as uplifting and heartwarming as one might assume… were Amelia’s Children marketed as anything other than a horror film. The key word in that previous sentence is “soon”, as in “possibly too soon”, as Amelia’s Children gives up all its secrets by the film’s mid-way point. Unfortunately, this also robs the film of any shocking twists or surprising developments in its final act. Once you know what is truly going on, you also know exactly how things will play out.

Although the film does center around Ed and his mother’s attempts to pull him into the family’s sinister web, the character quickly becomes secondary to that of Riley’s, eventually becoming little more than a plot device. The bulk of the story’s emotional (and physical) burdens are placed firmly on Riley’s shoulders. The problem here is that I could find nothing relatable or likable in this character. I’m not sure if the fault lies with Haven or the script itself, but there was a certain lack of charisma that kept me from ever truly caring about or rooting for “Riley”. If anything, I felt like I knew more about the secondary characters.

To its credit, Amelia’s Children is a beautifully lensed film. There’s clearly heavy thought and attention-to-detail put into almost every shot, with deliberate use of angles, shadows, lighting, and decor. There’s arguably too much thought as the visuals are much stronger than the story. It’s fair to call this a case of style over substance, and many may appreciate that aspect more than I did in this instance. That said, this isn’t Suspiria we’re talking about here, so don’t get overly excited.

Truth be told, only one element of the story feels truly “horror”, with the film playing out as more of a twisted and bizarre thriller. Even then, while this aspect serves as the explanation and motivation for Amelia’s actions, it still seems somewhat undeveloped and limited in scope. This is especially true when the opening sequence teases it to be more powerful and prevalent than what actually transpires.

Amelia’s Children does a decent job of making its “family dynamic” creepy, uncomfortable, and unsettling. I can’t say that I consider any of the performances all that standout or noteworthy, but never found them to be distracting. The sudden change in the actress playing “Amelia”, however, is something of a distraction. While I really have no issue with either performer, I do question why one actor was not cast for both roles, and now can’t help but question if the plastic surgery angle was essential to the script or more of a failed tactic to help hide the casting change.

While I definitely don’t consider Amelia’s Children a “bad” film in any sense of the word, its biggest crime is that it didn’t move me in any way. It also fails to stay suspenseful or compelling until its conclusion. Sure, the film ends in rather unresolved fashion, but I do not see there being an “Amelia’s Children 2”, nor is there really a need for one.

As of the time of this writing, Amelia’s Children is available to watch (with subscription) on Hulu and Disney+, as well for rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.