''13th Child'' (or ''The 13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil'') is a 2002

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...

directed by Thomas Ashley and Steven Stockage. It is inspired by the

Jersey Devil In South Jersey and Philadelphia folklore in the United States, the Jersey Devil (also known as the Leeds Devil) is a legendary creature said to inhabit the forest of Pine Barrens in South Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying bi ...

. The screenplay was written by Michael Maryk and

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 196 ...

, who also stars in the film. The story is based on ''The Jersey Devil'' by James F. McCloy and Ray Miller Jr. The film was shot in New Jersey at Wharton State Forest,

Batsto Village Batsto Village (or simply Batsto) is a historic unincorporated community located on CR 542 within Washington Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in Wharton State Forest in the south central Pine Barrens, and ...

, and Hammonton in the

Pine Barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

Cast

as Mr. Shroud *

Lesley-Anne Down Lesley-Anne Down (born 17 March 1954) is a British actress, singer and former model. She achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1973–75). She received further recognition for her performances in ...

as District-Attorney Murphy * Christopher Atkins as Ron * Robert Guillaume as Riley * John Wesley as Jones * Peter Jason as Coroner

Reception

Critical reception for the film has been negative. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has a rating of 40% based on 5 reviews. David N. Butterworth panned the film, as he felt that "Anyone who quickly denounced Madonna's "'' Swept Away''" as being the worst film of 2002 clearly hadn't seen "''13th Child''."" Charles Tatum from eFilmCritic.com panned the film's script, and character development.

References

External links

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13th Child
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

2002 films 2002 direct-to-video films 2002 horror films 2000s monster movies Direct-to-video horror films Jersey Devil in fiction Films shot in New Jersey Films set in New Jersey American monster movies 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-horror-film-stub