Something is seriously amiss in the tiny British village of Midwich. At 11 a.m. one morning, every village resident suddenly falls asleep -- and then, just as suddenly, everyone wakes up, completely unaffected by the phenomenon. Well, not completely: virtually every woman of childbearing years has become pregnant. All the babies are born on the same night, at precisely the same moment. All look the same, weigh the same, and even have the same curious cross-hatched hair and underdeveloped fingernails. Four years later, the children have all prematurely reached the age of nine or so -- and all behave in a weird, conspiratorial manner, comporting themselves more like adults than kids. Resident scientist George Sanders, one of the fathers, surmises that the bizarre manner of the children -- from their zombie-like movements to their cold, staring eyes -- is the result of radioactivity, possibly extraterrestrial in nature. One thing is certain: the children possess powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals. And they must be stopped. One of the most influential science fiction films of the 1960s, Village of the Damned was based on the equally eerie John Wyndham novel The Midwich Cuckoos. The more explicit 1995 remake was widely panned in comparison. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
A fantastic opening scene launches this tight, tense, and well-acted thriller directed by Wolf Rilla and based on John Wyndham's novel The Midwich Cuckoos. Wrapped tautly around the credits, the film's start finds the residents of the village of Midwich all blacking out simultaneously. They awaken several hours later, but in the days to come, a shocking discovery comes to light: all women of child-bearing age have been impregnated. This chilling premise doesn't suffer any let-up thanks to a script that keeps the viewer guessing and stellar performances from an excellent cast.
George Sanders -- as he often did during a lustrous acting career -- steals the show in the role of a Midwich doctor who becomes the sole trusted human to the emotionless children who have the village frozen in fear.
Barbara Shelley,
Michael Gwynn, and
Laurence Naismith add character and charm to the proceedings, but it's young
Martin Stephens, as Sanders' alien son David, who really ratchets up the terror factor with an icy performance. In an amusing nod to Sanders' classic turn in
All About Eve, one character is named Evelyn Harrington, Eve for short. Overall, the film moves at a gripping pace that culminates in a climax that is both explosive and surprisingly downbeat. The film was followed by a lesser sequel in 1964 titled
Children of the Damned and was remade in 1995 by
John Carpenter. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide