Children of the Damned (1963)

Children of the Damned came out just a few years after Village of the Damned. Like most "sequels" it can't hold a blank-eyed stare to the original. However, since it's paired with the initial adaptation of John Wyndham's novel The Midwich Cuckoos on this new DVD, you may find it's worth a look. (I use quotes around the word sequel since this film uses the same basic premise, but doesn't have any of the original characters returning and does not continue the chilling story as laid forth in Village of the Damned.)

While Village of the Damned is bona fide science fiction exercise in horror, Children of the Damned is rather a poor stepchild in that it is a more analytical, dramatic Cold War allegory. Five children from the major continents of the world who appear to be normal in all respects (gone is the uniform Nazi Youth look that was so effective in the original) are actually radically super-evolved beings with acute psychic powers. The children are rationalized as "quantum leaps in evolution" (not alien offspring, as in the first film). When a psychologist (Alan Badel) and a military man (Ian Hendry) attempt to find out where the childrens' real origins lie, the kids bolt, band together, and hold everyone at bay with their dangerous and deadly minds. The fearsome five have a hostage of sorts -- Susan Eliot (Barbara Ferris), the aunt of the British prototype of the ideal child, Paul (Clive Powell), and she is instrumental in the suspenseful climax.

Or… maybe it was suspenseful in 1963. Well-received by critics and audiences then, now it plays off rather dull and dated. It was a struggle for me to get through it, as I was fooled by the spooky cover art and lured in by the superb original (hey, even professional critics can fall prey to these ploys, because first and foremost we are film fanatics and, like Fox Mulder, we "want to believe.").

There are a few fun, overwrought performances. Particularly one early on from a soon-to-be victim of Paul, his birth mother Diana Looran (Sheila Allen). Diana is a blowsy bottled blonde, often hysterical and crass, a stark and complete contrast to her quiet, self-possessed, exceedingly intelligent "son" -- a despised son she knows isn't really hers. She's one of the few bright spots in this otherwise dour and solemn film.

But fear not: There is an excellent reason to watch Children of the Damned. That is the brand-new commentary with screenwriter John Briley. Briley is not an entertainer in his manner of speaking and there are several gaps of silence, but his words are a wealth of information for anyone who is interested in film history. He actually speaks little of the film at hand, but his anecdotes and his overview of Hollywood and British filmmaking in a bygone era are an invaluable education. Anyone at all who is attracted to real stories from the professionals who lived them will find Briley's commentary a fascinating overview of filmmaking in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Briley still worked throughout the 80s and 90s, although he doesn't speak of those decades too much -- except to mention his screenplay of the Academy Award-winning Gandhi (eagle-eyed viewers will notice a poster of Gandhi on one of the Children of the Damned sets). Some of the stories are rather amusing -- you'll never guess how an old fashioned sheep farmer and a naked Zero Mostel were both instrumental in Briley's early career!

This DVD of Children of the Damned is paired with Village of the Damned (on the same disk), and set for an August 10, 2004 release.

Review by Staci Layne Wilson for Horror.com