Rent Village of the Damned (1960)

Monsters in Blazers - Village of the Damned review by CH

Special effects. The phrase can strike more terror than whatever it might be that these seek to depict. Another hideous yawning jaw can set off a genuine example: one’s own.

No such danger in Village of the Damned (1960), a more lurid title for its inspiration which was John Wyndham’s novel The Midwych Cuckoos. Director Wolf Rilla opens it in a quiet village in a style almost redolent of many a wartime film, except that residents are keeling over not as a result of any gunfire but a mysterious force.

All of which comes to the attention of a military man who was about to visit for a few days. Shortly after his arrival, the afflicted rise again, and that seems to be that - except that it becomes apparent that in this interval several women became pregnant, and all give birth to supernatural children.

Preposterous? Yes. Plausibly done? Yes. And this owes as much to the acting skills of those involved, such as village big shot (George Sanders), his wife (Barbara Shelley) and their purported son (Martin Stephens). The boy is one of that dozen, seemingly alien, very white in hair and skin children whose eyes light up like headlamps as a prelude to seeing off predators (the sole special effect).

The boy is as polite as he is neatly dressed, in keeping with a film which never forces its pace. Malevolence is all the worse for its surface civilization.

Made cheaply (not that it shows) and released on a small scale, almost as a distributor’s afterthought, it quickly found an audience - as it has done ever since. Be sure to see it.

Polite Society, Sinister Eyes - Village of the Damned review by griggs

Something quietly sinister seeps through Village of the Damned — that most English of invasions, where danger arrives not with monsters but with manners. Midwich looks idyllic at first: hedgerows trimmed, tea poured, all perfectly calm. Then come the children — pale, polite, and far too intelligent for comfort. The horror doesn’t pounce; it settles in, one twitching curtain at a time, until those glowing eyes and that eerie hum make civility feel like a trap.

Wolf Rilla draws real tension from a simple setup, his restraint doing most of the work. The pacing stumbles here and there, and the dialogue can labour the point, but the mood never loosens its grip. Everything feels just slightly, deliciously off.

It may not be a genre milestone, but it endures as a model of quiet dread — proof that horror doesn’t need to scream. Sometimes it only needs to look back.

British Sci-fi- spoiler. - Village of the Damned review by Steve

Faithful adaptation of John Wyndham's classic science fiction novel The Midwich Cuckoo's. Wolf Rilla was a B film stalwart, but given a better budget than usual, he directs easily his best film, with acceptable effects. Though he lacks the flair to make the most of its inspired premise.

The residents of a small rural village are rendered unconscious while emergency services are unable to gain access. Afterwards all the young local women are inexplicably pregnant. An incident repeated across the world. The blond offspring have a similar, synthetic look and share a hive mentality. And can read the minds of dumb earthlings.

Clearly these kids represent an existential threat to mankind. A local Professor (George Sanders) is given a year to appeal to their better natures, but they are cold, impassive intellects. The film mostly follows the novel. It begins auspiciously with the mysterious coma, and builds to a thrilling climax as the mentor attempts to outwit the invulnerable invaders.

The idea of a generation of young people incompatible with the values of their parents entered the culture from Wyndham's story. The philosophical entitlement of the kids also echoes the recent scourge of fascism. Today, it's the concept that a destructive elite threatens life on earth which resonates. Like the best sci-fi, it keeps on shape-shifting.