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Synopsis:
In a small British village, twelve emotionless blonde children with extraordinary intellect are mysteriously born at the same time. A scientist (George Sanders) whose wife (Barbara Shelley) has given birth to one of these odd children (Martin Stephens) becomes their teacher, and learns that their powers may be more destructive than anyone could have imagined.
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Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
- Aliens
- Evil Kids
- George Sanders Films
- Horror
- Mind Control and Hypnosis
- Science Fiction
Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this “scary, well-made movie” — a “loose adaptation of John Wyndham’s novel The Midwich Cuckoos” — is “a top-notch horror film” which features “impressive atmospheric direction by Wolf Rilla” (who never made another “important film”). As in Val Lewton’s horror films of the 1940s, Rilla generates tension primarily through atmosphere and suggestion rather than explicit violence; the opening sequence, for instance — in which villager after villager collapses in the middle of their daily business — is truly frightening in its implication of sudden collective powerlessness. Indeed, throughout the film, we’re kept in suspense about what exactly has caused these mysterious children to be (virginally) conceived and then born — we can surmise that they’re alien spawn of some kind, but we never learn this for a fact, nor do we understand why or how they’re able to grow (both in utero and out) at nearly twice the normal human rate.
While Village of the Damned works perfectly well on its own as simply a taut, enjoyable horror flick, the presentation of other-worldly children who share a collective brain and have the power to make the adults around them do whatever they wish remains ripe for thematic investigation. In some ways, they’re clearly an allegory for the Communist Scare of the 1950s — emotionless beings who have invaded an idyllic Western town, and must be destroyed (by decisive force) before they “take over” (though their icy blonde hair makes them appear more like Aryan cogs than Russian workers). Others (see, for instance, the Not Coming to a Theater Near You review link below) have suggested that Village of the Damned represents a thinly veiled exploration of sexual mores in the 1960s, when women’s right to control their own reproductive potential was squarely in confrontation with religious mandates. Regardless of one’s deeper analysis, however, the unsmiling children — with their glowing, penetrating gaze (the film’s only concession to special effects) — remain an iconic trope in the history of horror cinema.
Note: While Peary argues that this was the first film “to exploit… the horror potential” of “children-as-monsters”, the kids here — with their odd blonde haircuts and bangs — bear more than a faint resemblance to “evil” Rhoda Penmark in 1956’s The Bad Seed
Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
- The creepy opening sequence
- George Sanders as Gordon Zellaby
- Barbara Shelley as Sanders’ wife, Anthea
- Martin Stephens as Sanders’ “son”
- The eerie scene in which the “one year old” babies teach each other how to open up a trick box with a chocolate inside
- Geoffrey Faithfull’s b&w cinematography
Must See?
Yes, for its status as a classic British horror flick. Remade in 1995 by John Carpenter, and followed by a pseudo-sequel (Children of the Damned) in 1964.
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