Child review – jump scares abound in twisty organ transplant fable that keeps horror at its heart

This Luxembourg-made movie about a couple who venture east to save their son features some impressive film-making

Stippled with first-world guilt about income inequality even between fellow EU member states, this Luxembourg-made horror sprinkles a bit of liberal fairy dust over what is otherwise a pretty straight-up, if twisty, horror setup: a grunting, inarticulate and physically disfigured big baddie stalks the normie protagonists who shouldn’t have come round these impoverished parts. Think Grand Duchy Chainsaw Massacre, though admittedly without any chainsaws. There are sullen locals, a dilapidated farmhouse full of ominous clutter, ill intentions and horrible maiming.

The unlucky visitors here are former couple Greg (Malik Zidi) and Anne (Brigitte Urhausen), who are co-parenting little Leo (Leo Todesco), a pre-adolescent who is lying in a hospital bed while waiting for a crucial organ transplant. A little time has to elapse before we learn that control-freak Anne blames likable doctor Greg for Leo’s condition because he took his eyes off the kid for just long enough for him to get hit by a car. But Greg is trying to make it up to her by accompanying his ex on a trip to an unnamed eastern European country (where folks speak Bulgarian) to acquire the organ Leo needs on the black market, their glide path lubricated with lots of cash and pre-arranged bribes to border guards and the like.

Unfortunately, things go very pear-shaped; in fact, they go so wrong we may need a whole other kind of fruit to describe the badness of this shape. Co-writer-director Cyrus Neshvad deliberately toys with audience expectations about survival by violating narrative conventions about point of view, which is really fun. Also impressive is the way he and cinematographer Nikos Welter play with light and colour throughout, shifting the whole palette as soon as the Luxembourgers cross the border, and later using the LED light from a crucial box to cast little pools of first blue and then orange and red light to signify time running out. The performances are mostly held back and buttoned down until it is time to scream in terror. It’s a shame that the initial medical conceit is a little too vague (which organ are they supposed to be collecting?), but there are enough jump scares to give most hearts a jolt.

• Child is in UK cinemas from 2 October