The Prodigy 2019

The cinematic journey begins in the heartland of Ohio, where Margaret St. James (Brittany Allen) makes her daring escape from captivity, her right hand cruelly severed as she fled towards freedom. As she stumbles upon the roadside, a sympathetic stranger halts to offer aid, revealing the gruesome extent of her injuries.

Meanwhile, across state lines in Pennsylvania, John (Peter Mooney) and Sarah Bloom (Taylor Schilling) embark on their journey to welcome their newborn baby into the world. The anticipation is palpable as Sarah’s labor progresses, but little do they know that a sinister plot is unfolding elsewhere. In Ohio, authorities converge on the residence of Edward Scarka (Paul Fauteux), the man responsible for Margaret’s captivity. As he emerges from his home, stark naked, with something concealed behind his back, the officers are quick to react, their guns drawn and ready to strike.

The fateful encounter culminates in Scarka’s untimely demise, with the police discovering that he was clutching Margaret’s severed hand. In a stunning coincidence, mere moments later, the Bloom family welcomes their newborn son Miles into the world, his arrival marked by an eerie similarity - bloodstains on his tiny hands eerily mirroring the gunshot wounds inflicted upon Scarka.

As the years pass, Miles (Jackson Robert Scott) grows into an enigmatic young boy, exhibiting a peculiar calmness that belies his age. His lack of reaction to medical procedures is merely the beginning, as he showcases unsettling behavior, such as cold-bloodedly crushing a spider and eerily murmuring Hungarian phrases in his sleep. Sarah’s friend cannot help but notice Miles’ unique heterochromia, a trait that sets him apart from the norm.

As the Bloom family navigates the challenges of parenthood, they are faced with increasingly bizarre occurrences surrounding their son. The evening wears on as John and Sarah enjoy a rare date night, leaving Miles in the care of babysitter Zoe (Elisa Moolecherry). In the quiet moments that follow, Zoe initiates a game of Hide and Seek with Miles, only to stumble upon him in the basement, where he has cleverly loosened a light bulb. The tension builds as she descends the stairs barefoot, ultimately ending up with a shard of glass lodged in her foot.

As Sarah confronts Miles about the incident, he professes no recollection of their playtime or Zoe’s subsequent injury. The mystery deepens when Sarah discovers him whispering an unsettling phrase - “Go fuck yourself” - as he sleeps later that night. His nocturnal murmurs return to Hungarian phrases before he awakens, seemingly shaken. Sarah attributes the episode to a bad dream, but Miles insists it was merely a pleasant reverie.

As the school year wears on, Miles’s frustrations boil over when he’s thwarted in his attempt to collaborate with a girl on a project, only to find her already paired up with another boy. Seething with resentment, Miles retreats to the janitor’s closet and emerges with a wrench, ready to settle the score in class. However, this outburst catches the attention of school administrators, leading to a referral to Dr. Elaine Strasser (Paula Boudreau), a psychologist who specializes in cases of unusual behavior.

During their sessions, Dr. Strasser listens intently as Miles speaks in a rare Hungarian dialect that sends shivers down her spine. Arthur Jacobsen (Colm Feore), Dr. Strasser’s colleague, joins the conversation and reveals that this particular dialect is often used to express hostility towards women. He shares a fascinating anecdote about a six-year-old boy he met in India who claimed to possess memories of a past life, including details about his family and a tragic drowning incident.

Dr. Strasser and Arthur propose that Miles may be harboring a secondary personality, one that’s gaining momentum and threatening to overwhelm his normal self. Sarah is skeptical of their theory, but they share a videotape featuring a similar case, hoping it will persuade her of the gravity of the situation.

Meanwhile, chaos erupts at home when Tallulah, the family dog, goes missing. John takes Miles on a search party, only to be met with disturbing remarks from his son about the dog’s demise and John’s own traumatic past. As tensions escalate, Sarah is forced to confront John about her concerns, but they soon discover that Miles has been secretly recording them through a hidden camera.

The incident sparks a new level of anxiety and mistrust within the family, culminating in John’s angry departure from the household, leaving everyone to wonder what other secrets Miles might be hiding.

As the darkness yields to dawn, Sarah stirs from a haunting nightmare in which Miles (his name whispered with trepidation) materializes at the end of the hallway, his anguished cries piercing the shadows. The fleeting vision of Scarka’s tormented form as it grasps for her is replaced by the comforting presence of her lover, Miles, who enters her room, his eyes heavy with a quiet desperation. As they lie together, he seeks reassurance that his love will remain unwavering, no matter what transgressions he may commit, and Sarah’s hesitant affirmation hangs precariously in the balance.

But the tranquility is short-lived, as an eerie sense of unease settles over the household. A swarm of flies buzzes around the room, their persistent hum a harbinger of the horrors to come. The stench emanating from the basement draws Sarah’s attention, like a moth to flame, to the grisly discovery that awaits her: a mangled paw, blood-soaked and grotesque, amidst a sea of carnage. And then, there it is – Tallulah’s lifeless form, her throat brutally slashed, a grim reminder of the terror that lurks just beneath the surface.

Confronted with this ghastly revelation, Sarah and John must join forces to exorcise the evil that has taken up residence within Miles. They seek out Arthur, a learned individual with the power to tap into Miles’ psyche, hoping to awaken the benevolent personality before Scarka’s malevolent influence can consume him once more.

In a desperate bid to reclaim Miles from the clutches of darkness, Sarah and Arthur embark on a perilous journey, guided by the faint glimmer of hope. Miles, possessed by the demon that drives him, manifests his malevolence, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. He compels Arthur to deceive Sarah, convincing her that the therapy has failed, even as Scarka’s dark essence continues to exert its influence.

But the truth is too great to be ignored, and it is only when Arthur uncovers the horrific secrets surrounding Scarka’s past – a serial killer with an insatiable thirst for blood, whose twisted legacy includes the gruesome trophies of severed limbs and heterochromatic eyes – that the full extent of Miles’ curse becomes clear. And with this knowledge comes the chilling realization that Scarka may have returned to settle unfinished business, driven by an unquenchable hunger to wreak havoc on the world once more.

Here’s my rephrased version:

Sarah’s investigation into Miles’s psyche leads her to his room, where she uncovers a chilling collection of newspaper clippings and articles about Margaret, whose harrowing ordeal with Scarka was later immortalized in her memoir. This disturbing discovery dawns on Sarah: Scarka’s malevolent presence persists due to the unfinished business left unresolved by Margaret, whose life was forever scarred by his actions.

Meanwhile, John and Sarah prepare to take Miles to the hospital for treatment. As they drive away from home, John pours out his emotions to Miles, confessing his love. The boy responds with a gruesome display of violence, severing John’s seatbelt with scissors before plunging the blade into his side, causing their car to crash into a tree. At the hospital, Sarah is informed by the doctor that John must remain in a coma for several weeks as the swelling in his brain subsides.

Sarah decides it’s time to put an end to Scarka’s reign of terror once and for all. She gives Miles sleeping pills, ensuring he won’t witness her purchasing a gun. Later, she visits Margaret under false pretenses, claiming inspiration from her book. As they converse, Sarah becomes physically ill, unprepared to take the life of an innocent woman. After loading her gun, she confronts Margaret in the bathroom, but ultimately can’t bring herself to pull the trigger.

Margaret then spots Miles breaking into her home, knife in hand, and he utters the same eerie phrase Scarka once used when they first met – a reference to his unusual eye color. Miles brutally attacks Margaret, pinning her to the floor as he repeatedly stabs her stomach before taunting her about fleeing from him. Sarah tries futilely to aid the mortally wounded woman before racing after Miles as he disappears into a nearby field.

As Scarka’s true nature emerges, Sarah confronts him, demanding to know why his malevolent presence persists despite the apparent completion of his unfinished business. Scarka reveals that the boy who was once Miles vanished the moment Sarah vowed to love him regardless of his actions – and now Scarka is in full control of the body. With her gun drawn, Sarah prepares to take aim at Scarka, but a neighbor intervenes, shooting her down. As she succumbs to her wounds, Scarka feigns innocence, seeking comfort from the stranger as Sarah’s life slips away.

As the weeks go by, Miles (Scarka) continues to weave a convincing facade, expertly camouflaging his true identity behind a mask of innocence. The unsuspecting foster family welcomes him with open arms, their mother extending an olive branch in the form of a warm invitation to enter their home. Scarka’s gaze, however, is fixated on her hands, his eyes drinking in every detail as if seeking answers to the mysteries that shroud his troubled past.

As he ascends the stairs, the boy’s footsteps echoing through the silence, he pauses momentarily in front of a mirror, its reflective surface serving as a portal to the truth. And then, with an uncanny sense of inevitability, Scarka’s true countenance stares back at him, his doppelganger’s piercing gaze a stark reminder that, no matter how well he may have mastered the art of deception, his dual identities will always be locked in a struggle for dominance.