VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960)

Tagline: Beware the stare that will paralyze the will of the world.

(Sci-Fi, Suspense, The Cow Stare) [PG]

Note: This movie was not given a rating by the MPAA. Streaming services have it rated TV-14, but there is nothing all that spooky or sexual here, so I am giving this a PG. Mostly because kids might need some guidance if they watch this an suddenly start trying to control their parents with their minds.

Intellect. Intellect? That's all you care about. What if you can't teach them? What if you can't put the brake of morals on them?

This movie takes us to the small English village of Midwich where one day around noon the entire town falls asleep, including the animals. Hours later they wake up but it becomes apparent that same disturbing force has made a number of women pregnant. The children are all born near the same timeframe and grow abnormally fast in mind and body. The more they learn the more they discover until they ultimately have the power to control minds. Can anything stop the children of the VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED?

So, this movie is pretty much steeped into the horror sci-fi arena, but for me this was more of a thriller than full blown horror. Yes, movies with kids can always be a bit creepy, but even with the crazy eye effects they used in this (which was done with a negative overlay in some scenes) by todays’ standards this thing just isn’t that scary. It’s not even as scary as pulling off the side of the road in the middle of the night and seeing a bunch of cows just staring at you, like they can see straight into your soul. 

Pacing wise things are a bit slow but the performances are good enough to keep you in this one if you don’t mind a bit of set up. George Sanders is pretty solid as Gordon Zellaby. He is probably most famous for being the voice of Shere Khan the Tiger in Disney’s THE JUNGLE BOOK. We also get Barbara Shelley who was probably best known for CAT GIRL. She is good in both films, but I thought she stood out in CAT GIRL a lot more. She also apparently felt the same way because she thought that her lack of on screen time as Anthea Zellaby in this was due to a misogynistic script. I didn’t get that the script hated women at all, but she is entitled to feel that way. No one in the movie belittled her or said “womandammit” every 5 minutes soo.... If you want to see a movie with a misogynistic script, watch JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. She also didn’t have to have her head literally strapped into a fixed position so that it wouldn’t move. The kids in the movie did. Martin Stephens was one of those kids and he played David Zellaby. He was pretty good in this but only decided to act for another 6 years after this flick. 

In spite of how it sounds this movie has nothing spiritual in it. Even the taglines make you really think something demonic is going on. I only decided to watch it because someone in a sci-fi group I am in mentioned this movie is strictly sci-fi in regard to content. So I was pretty excited to check it out knowing it wasn’t another patty-cake fake demon vomit fest. The sets are all pretty decent and I liked the model that they used at the end of the movie. The score is decent, but it’s not mind blowing.

Action wise there is really only 2 scenes in here that kind of stand out against the rest of the tone, but overall this is going to be one of those monster-less movies you are going to want to really sit down with and embrace the dialog. 

I have to give this one a 3 out of 7. Overall I did like the effects on the kids eyes when they were controlling your mind making you go get McDonald’s and stuff, but overall this movie is pretty forgettable.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER BRITISH STUDIOS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Purchases made at Indy Planet for any issue of DARK 30 will go towards funding the next issue.