''Relative Fear'' (also known as ''The Child'' and ''Le silence d'Adam'') is a 1994 Canadian

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre freque ...

film that references the 1956 film '' The Bad Seed''. An

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

child is seemingly born to kill and does so.

Cast

*Matthew Dupuis as Adam Pratman (Adam Madison) *

Darlanne Fluegel Darlanne Fluegel (November 25, 1953 – December 15, 2017) was an American actress, fashion model, film producer and professor. Fluegel played the female lead role in a number of films and television shows throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Early ...

as Linda Pratman *

James Brolin Craig Kenneth Bruderlin (born July 18, 1940), known professionally as James Brolin, is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes and an Emmy Awards, Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August ...

as Det. Atwater *Martin Neufeld as Peter Pratman *

Bruce Dinsmore Bruce Dinsmore is a Canadian actor. He voices Tubby Tompkins from '' The Little Lulu Show'', Binky Barnes and David Read from ''Arthur'', Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from '' The Secret World of Santa Claus'' and Greens the Frog from ''Mumble Bu ...

as Clive (Gary Madison) *

M. Emmet Walsh Michael Emmet Walsh (March 22, 1935 – March 19, 2024) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 films and television series, including supporting roles as Earl Frank in '' Straight Time'' (1978), the Madman in ''The Jerk'' (1979), Captai ...

as Earl Ladelle * Michael Caloz as Manny Dorff *

Denise Crosby Denise Michelle Crosby (born November 24, 1957) is an American actress and model known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar mainly in Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 1), season one of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and Yar's daug ...

as Connie Madison *

Linda Sorenson Linda Sorenson (born January 19, 1940) is a Canadian film, television and voice actress, best known for playing Mrs. Stegman in ''Class of 1984'', Warden Howe in ''Murphy Brown'', Virginia Reeves in '' Material World'' and Isabelle Carrington in ...

as Margaret Ladelle *

Jason Blicker Jason Blicker is a Canadian film and television actor.Rita Zekas, "Expats: Ice work if you can get it". ''Toronto Star'', July 19, 2003. He has had several small roles in television series including recurring roles on ''Robocop'', '' F/X: The Se ...

as Dennison *

Vlasta Vrána Vlasta Vrána (born 1950) is a Czech-Canadian actor of stage, film, and television. He has appeared in over 285 films, television, and theatre productions, including voice roles, narration, and advertisements. Early life Vrána was born in Norw ...

as Mr. Schulman *Liz MacRae as Ms. Roark *Gisèle Rousseau as Dr. Hoyer *Jenny Campbell as Paige *Frank Schorpion as Dr. Shane *Alan West as Henry Pratman *Victoria Barkoff as Ms. Smith *

Tyrone Benskin Tyrone Benskin (born 29 December 1958) is an English-Canadian actor, theatre director and politician. He was elected Member of Parliament in the Jeanne-Le Ber riding, in Montreal, Quebec, in the 2011 Canadian federal election and served as an ...

as Cop *Roger E. Reid as Police Officer

Reception

In the book ''Representing Autism: Culture, Narrative, Fascination'', Stuart Murray describes the film as "the worst kind of example of the prosthetic narrative, where the idea of disability simply becomes part of a genetic method". He states that there is "little recognizably autistic in anything Adam does"

References

External links

* * 1994 films 1994 independent films 1994 psychological thriller films 1990s psychological horror films Canadian independent films Canadian psychological thriller films Canadian psychological horror films English-language Canadian films Films about autism 1990s English-language films Films directed by George Mihalka 1990s Canadian films English-language independent films English-language thriller films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub