Films involving General Conditions

General: Major Films no photo.

Title	Children of the Dark (1994) (TV Film)
Alternative/Original Title
Disability	General Light sensitivity
Country	USA
Length	93
Genre	True Story
Rating	3
Director	Michael Switzer
Cast	Peter Horton Tracy Pollan Roy Dotrice
Notes	The true case of two sisters who have a disease which makes them dangerously sensitive to light. Regretfully they are discriminated against by neighbours who call them the "Vampire Girls". The problems caused by this is what the film is mainly about. And a comment at IMDB says that it "really goes overboard to a point of where it's just kind of dumb after awhile." The main actors are quite good but the film suffers after the children have been diagnosed. What follows are crises and confrontations. And once again there is the problem of not having medical insurance. The first sister taken to hospital needs tests including a biopsy which will cost $400 which the parents don't have. Fortutiously the father is able to sell a treasured motorbike for $450. The tests reveal that the girl has zeno (sic) pigmentosa (I was unable to transcribe what the doctor said). This can cause skin cancer, blindness and mental retardation if the person is subject to bright light. The other daughter is tested and found to have the same exceptionally rare disease. Almost immediately the family encounter prejudice from workmates, other children at school, and neighbours. In fact they are driven out of town and go on the road. Sleeping in their van they are rudely awakened by a man carrying a gun accusing them of trespass. But miraculously when he hears the plight of the girls he offers them shelter and all appears to end well. This is a true story but in the film the actions of the neighbours appears unrealistically extreme when they go to the lengths of trying to burn down the family's house.

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