MovieChat Forums > Village of the Damned (1960) Discussion > Really Spooky For It's Time!

Really Spooky For It's Time!

posted 19 years ago by jeuk
7 replies | jump to latest

I remember bunking in to our local flea pit to see this movie. We were penniless, and underage so we had to do things that way!One of my pals was an albino, and we gave him a lot of stick about being an alien child! his sister had some kind of anaemic condition and eventually died when she was still in her teens, so I felt kind of guilty that we'd given him such a hard time!
I've never seen the 90s version, but can't imagine it being anywhere near as good as this black and white masterpiece. I watched it this afternoon on TV and found it still had not lost it's edge with time!

[–] pennywise78 19 years ago

I've seen both versions........and enjoyed them BOTH greatly . Each one had its " own " thing to offer us viewers . I liked them each for a different reason .

[–] michaeldersker_9 19 years ago

Yes, there's an eerie stillness captured in the film, partly helped by the black and white presentation I'm sure. I've always found the movie so entertaining, and still quite thrilling, not to mention intellectually stimulating. I think it's very understated nature is why it is so powerful a film, many of the images and scenes have remained with people for years. Who could forget the brick wall scene...

[–] Gary-161 19 years ago

The only quibble I have with that scene is when he thinks: "nearly eight thirty" or something. Association of ideas - at eight thirty a bomb will go off. It would have made sense to just stick to "brick wall."

I never get bored watching this movie. It has virtue in cutting to the chase. The boy David's performance is legendary. Apparently, the glowing eyes were imposed by the studio but I've always liked them. They look like weird Nazis or vampires out in daylight. You get this eeriness that comes with black and white.

[–] bioneer625 19 years ago

With regard to Martin Stephens' performance as David, have you seen "The Innocents"? Even better. Of course, that whole movie is a masterpiece in its own right, based on an even greater masterpiece.

[–] johnben_56 18 years ago

This was really a great movie. So creepy. One of the best scenes in my opinion was when they found out that the Soviets had nuked their village. It was that revelation that the children would soon be completely out of control and if they wanted too long it would be too late to do anything.

By the way the 90s version was lame. There is something to be said about leaving a lot of the story a mystery.

John

[–] Woodyanders 18 years ago

What makes this film so wonderfully eerie and unnerving is the sheer vague creepiness of the story; the fact that there's no explanation for how or why the children were conceived in the first place adds substantially to the picture's overall unsettlingly ambiguous atmosphere.

"Warren Oates died for our sins"

[–] nomad-46 18 years ago

Well, it was hinted at that it was an alien genetic experiment.

Actually, in the novel MIDWICH CUCKOOS (which the movie was roughly based on), they actually described there having been a photograph taken from a high flying plane, during the period the people of Midwich were blacked out, which clearly showed a large, white, spoon-shaped object in the exact center of town, an object which was assumed to be a parked alien spacecraft.

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