Village of the Damned

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, Linda Kozlowski, Michael Pare, Mark Hamil
Directed by: John Carpenter
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
1995

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The small town of Midwich suddenly comes under investigation after the entire town suffers from a simultaneous blackout, ten women mysteriously become pregnant, and all give birth on the same day. As the children grow up, Dr. Alan Chaffee (Christopher Reeve) realizes something is terribly wrong: they are all born with platinum-white hair, psychic abilities, and are extremely intelligent. As more and more "accidental" deaths start to occur, Chaffee teams up with a governmental scientist (Kirstie Alley) to see what they must do to stop the evil children.

Review:

Tim: This was Christopher Reeve's last film before his paralyzing accident in 1995, so it is worth seeing for that reason. The other reason is that Reeve is just so damn good in it. His performance saves the film from being downright silly- he makes everything much more believable, and his interaction with the children is excellent.

Kirstie Alley however, isn't as fortunate. Her role isn't that exciting, and she doesn't add much to the film at all. I've never been a huge fan of her, and her performance here makes me want to yawn rather than celebrate it.

The performance of all the children are excellent. They are chilling and smart. Their role was vital to this film, because if you couldn't believe them to be something more than ordinary children, then the film would have fallen apart. However, they do exactly what is needed of them.

I heard the original 1960 version of this film was scarier, but I haven't had a chance to see it so I don't know. This film spoon-feeds the audience the subject material, without really going into philosophical reasons about the children- I believe there were many interesting avenues Carpenter and his team could have pursued, but did not. If you simply watch the film, its not that scary- it's only when you put what you see on screen in a grand scale, and really think about the consequences of the birth of such children and what that would mean to the world, then you start getting goosebumps, and feel shivers run up your spine.

I do like this movie, although I think it has room for massive improvement. If you decide to watch this film, I urge you to pay attention and think philosophically- you'll get much more out of the film, and you'll be much more entertained.

Rating 1-10

Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Village of the Damned (1960), Superman, Vampires, Fallen