In the world of film, certain names stand out above others. When it comes to dark, eerie tales of sorrow, producer Tim Burton immediately comes to mind. In his newest creation, Burton aims to capture the essence of children stuck reliving the same day on a loop for their own protection.

It is oftentimes difficult to transfer a book to the movie screen with all the small details intact, and in the case of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, a few of the peculiarities were altered to better move the plot. For fans of the original book series, this may create some bias against the movie, but it doesn’t change the children’s unique personalities.

The Hollowgast make up a big part of  the story. Without them, the children would be able to live semi normal lives without fear of the white eyed creatures. Normal aside from the fact that their house blew up during World War 2 and that they live in a never ending time loop.

However, other thing that makes the Hollows important is that with their sharp teeth fixed smiles, they might be too much for younger  audience members.

There is an ever present eerie feeling throughout the story, as in any Burton creation. But certain moments go a bit too far. Enoch is one of the children with the peculiarity of…..life. He brings dead things back to life just enough for them to be his puppets. In one scene, Enoch wants to scare away the newcomer Jake, so he uses a puppet. The puppet in this case is Victor, a former peculiar with the unfortunate fate of dying after a hollow takes his eyes.

Compared to this scene, it’s all relatively sane. The arrival of Jake to the island of Cairnholm means everyone is in danger of being found by the hollows that follow him through the loop. However, he also becomes their savior as the creatures are invisible to everyone except Jake. His ability allows him to lead everyone to safety and ultimately teach them to fight for themselves.

The head mistress Miss Peregrine turns out to be one of the main reasons for the hollow problems asshe is a ymbryne. She possesses the ability to transform into a peregrine hawk and to create the life saving time loops that keep peculiars safe. This time stopping power attracts Barron, the leader of the Hollows, who conducted the experiment that was intended to give eternal life but ultimately created the eerie creatures.

It’s a game of cat and mouse, with one narrowly escaping the other multiple times. In this case, it worked for the better, and created suspense throughout the film that left the audience always wondering.

This is the kind of movie people watch several times simply because it’s an interesting story and the characters  offer something new each time. Perhaps something stands out the second time that didn’t the first, for example that Jakes grandpa did not appear again in the original book after his demise but in the movie it is a bit different.

The best way to describe it is charming and curious; peculiar, even. Anyone can relate to the emotions of the children desperate to break out of the bubble they’ve been trapped in almost all their lives. The ending is a triumph for both those on screen and in the movie theatre seats, when freedom is finally achieved.

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To read the book review on Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, click here.

This author can be reached via email: [email protected] and via twitter: @_Elizabethann16.