Jackson Robert and Taylor Schilling star in a scene from the movie "The Prodigy." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/MGM)

By Catholic News Service

Edgy creepy-kid tale in which a gifted 8-year-old (Jackson Robert Scott) born on the same day that a serial killer (Paul Fauteux) was gunned down by police shows signs of having a split personality, the darker side of which disturbs and bewilders his caring parents (Taylor Schilling and Peter Mooney).

Though it reaches a bloody climax, director Nicholas McCarthy’s chiller is mostly restrained in its depiction of aggression and effective in unsettling viewers. The reincarnation theory underlying the plot, improbably peddled by a psychiatrist (Paula Boudreau) and an academic (Colm Feore), will be easily dismissed by grown moviegoers.

Occult themes, some graphic gory violence, gruesome images, partial male nudity, at least one use of profanity, a couple of rough terms, a few crude expressions. The Catholic News Service classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Click here for full reviews of this and other current movies by Catholic News Service.