French directors are mostly talented in cinema but if there's a domain in which they don't shine, it's fantastic cinema. Of course, there are exceptions: "Les Yeux sans visage" (1959) but you can also quote "Baxter" (1989) by Jérôme Boivin. If these French fantastic movies are that good, it's because they're original and they bring something new to the fantastic. Unfortunately, a major part of French directors take their inspiration from foreign and mainly American movies. As a consequence, their movies are deprived of originality. This is exactly what you could put forward with "Un jeu d'enfants" (2001).
When you're watching this film, it's difficult not to think about other movies. "Shining" by Kubrick, "the Haunting" by Robert Wise and especially "The Innocents" by Jack Clayton,. Besides, the director with "un jeu d'enfants" wanted to pay a tribute to Clayton's movie. Well, I'm obliged to recognize that this intention isn't really convincing and it is mainly due to an uninspired and mostly inconsistent script.
All right, there's sometimes a feeling of fear but I think that there's no dramatic progression and certain sequences fall into the ridiculous. Moreover, a lot of points remain ambiguous and the director doesn't give clues to explain them: if the two children are possessed, how do they kill Daphné, the baby-sitter? Why do they like going to the cellar? Why have Charles Berling and Karin Viard got visions?
Finally, "un jeu d'enfants" is a disappointing and even pointless movie.
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