John Carpenter's Village of the Damned (1995)
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The story
In the coastal town of Midwich, California, the residents experience a mysterious 10 AM 'blackout' that leaves ten women mysteriously pregnant. The resulting children are born with pale skin, white-blonde hair, and fierce intellects. However, they lack individual personalities and possess dangerous psychic powers that cause violent consequences whenever they are provoked. As the children begin to cause fatal 'accidents' among the townsfolk, they retreat to a local barn for survival. The community is thrown into chaos as the children's inhuman nature and escalating abilities threaten the safety of the town.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a mysterious 'blackout' in Midwich, California, ten women become pregnant and give birth to children with pale skin, white-blonde hair, and cobalt eyes. These children possess fierce intellects and eerie psychic powers but lack individual personalities. They begin to 'pair off' like mates, with the exception of David, who is an outcast because his intended mate was stillborn. The children cause several fatal 'accidents' in town and retreat to a barn. Their leader, Mara Chaffee, uses her powers to force a local priest to commit suicide. It is revealed that other colonies of these 'blackout children' exist globally but were eliminated due to their inhumanity. A scientist, Dr. Susan Verner, is forced to commit suicide by the children after showing them an alien corpse. An angry mob's failed attempt to kill the children leads to chaos. Dr. Alan Chaffee devises a plan to detonate a bomb in the children's classroom, using his own mental strength to hide the bomb's presence. Mara eventually breaks through his defenses, revealing the bomb. The bomb explodes, killing everyone inside, including Alan. Jill McGowan holds David outside during the blast, and they flee together to start a new life.
- First release year
- 1995
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Carpenter
- Writers
- David Himmelstein · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Christopher Reeve · Dr. Alan Chaffee; Kirstie Alley · Dr. Susan Verner; Linda Kozlowski · Jill McGowan; Michael Paré · Frank McGowan; Meredith Salenger · Melanie Roberts; Mark Hamill · Reverend George; Pippa Pearthree · Sarah; Peter Jason · Ben Blum
- Genres
- science fiction; horror
- Themes
- alien visitation; mind control; inhumanity
- Tone and mood
- straight; drama
- Premise and plot tags
- remake; pregnancy; science fiction; horror
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (1957)
- Franchise connections
- Village of the Damned
- Content notes
- graphic violence
- Reception
- The film was a box office failure and received negative critical reviews, though some critics found it to be a sly restaging of the original story.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 28% · review count: 40; Metacritic · score: 41 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel · 1996 · lost
- Production trivia
- Christopher Reeve's last theatrically released film before his 1995 accident.; The design of the characters in the music video for M83's 'Midnight City' is based on the film.; The film was shot in widescreen color, unlike its predecessor.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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