Village of the Damned (1995)
2/4
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Linda Kozlowski, Kirstie Alley, Lindsey Haun, Thomas Dekker, Mark Hamill
Rated R for Sci-Fi Terror and Violence
It's hard to imagine that John Carpenter, the man behind two of the most famous horror films of the past 50 years ("Halloween" and "The Thing") could come up with something this goofy. Whatever gifts he had for creating shocks and terror he had when helming those movies have not made it into this movie. Then again, Carpenter made "They Live" and "Prince of Darkness," so maybe he just stopped trying. His remake of the 1960 film starring George Sanders (which in turn was adapted from a novel by John Wyndham) is too campy to be truly awful, but there's no denying that this one's a dud.
It seems to be just any ordinary day in the town of Midwich. The local doctor (Reeve) gets a morning kiss and flirt from his wife. A teacher (Kozlowski) is worried that her husband forgot something for the school picnic. Nothing special. But at 10 am exactly, everyone in town passes out. For the next six hours, everyone from the town drunk to the caged bird is totally unconscious. But word gets out and soon cops and hazmat teams are on the case. Leading them is Dr. Susan Verner (Alley), one of those government types who you know means business simply because she wears black and has a half-gone cigarette perpetually stuck between two of her fingers. Those that are still alive wake up (one passed out on the grill and was burned to a crisp while another crashed his car while he was carrying helium). Just when things start to get back to normal, a dozen of the townswomen turn up pregnant. Verner offers to fully fund the pregnancies for the purposes of science, and 9 months later the population increases dramatically on the same day. But the new arrivals aren't normal little tykes. They're super smart, have chalk white hair, and can use telekinetic powers on the biggest idiots in town (which is everyone, by the way). Still, it takes forever for everyone to realize that there is something wrong with these kids. Very wrong.
This is a body snatcher chiller, although Carpenter doesn't seem to utilize it well. Maybe he was trapped by the source material. Whatever the reason, this did not have a well-thought out plot. For example. If the Zardip wannabes really have world domination on their minds, would it really make sense to stand out in a crowd? Like, dressing and walking in unison? Or telepathically making people off themselves? There are nearly a dozen of them, and not one of them realized that blending in would give them a greater chance of success? Think things out, guys! I mean, earthlings have our share of idiots (especially if they see a Seth Rogen movie as background research), but come on!
"Village of the Damned" has few elements in which it succeeds, and acting is not one of them. Christopher Reeve (in his final film appearance before his notorious accident) turns in a typically flat performance as the good Dr. Alan Chaffee. Only his towering frame makes him memorable. He's out acted by all his adult co-stars. Kirstie Alley is cast against type in a decidedly uncomic role. Her range is obviously stretched at times, but she's the most memorable member of the cast. Linda Kozlowski is overwrought but adds a bit of heart to this bland production. And Mark Hamill (yes, the dude forever known as Luke Skywalker) does what he can as the increasingly nutso priest. I'm hazarding a guess that about half his scenes were left on the cutting room floor, since that's the only possible reason his character could go from voice of reason to berserk lunatic with so little screen time. And importance, as it turns out. The key performances are Mara (Haun) and David (Dekker), the only kids with more than a line or two. I really hate trashing on kid actors, but they're just bad. They hardly seem to understand the sophisticated dialogue (as far as that goes in a movie this dumb) they're saying. In fact, they're the least creepy of the kids, which is kind of a big oversight.
John Carpenter is clearly not trying here (he revealed in 2011 that he was contractually obligated to do it). There's no atmosphere, the camerawork is bland, the acting is stiff, and it looks like it was made for next to nothing. This is a movie made without wit or joy. Or effort.
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Linda Kozlowski, Kirstie Alley, Lindsey Haun, Thomas Dekker, Mark Hamill
Rated R for Sci-Fi Terror and Violence
It's hard to imagine that John Carpenter, the man behind two of the most famous horror films of the past 50 years ("Halloween" and "The Thing") could come up with something this goofy. Whatever gifts he had for creating shocks and terror he had when helming those movies have not made it into this movie. Then again, Carpenter made "They Live" and "Prince of Darkness," so maybe he just stopped trying. His remake of the 1960 film starring George Sanders (which in turn was adapted from a novel by John Wyndham) is too campy to be truly awful, but there's no denying that this one's a dud.
It seems to be just any ordinary day in the town of Midwich. The local doctor (Reeve) gets a morning kiss and flirt from his wife. A teacher (Kozlowski) is worried that her husband forgot something for the school picnic. Nothing special. But at 10 am exactly, everyone in town passes out. For the next six hours, everyone from the town drunk to the caged bird is totally unconscious. But word gets out and soon cops and hazmat teams are on the case. Leading them is Dr. Susan Verner (Alley), one of those government types who you know means business simply because she wears black and has a half-gone cigarette perpetually stuck between two of her fingers. Those that are still alive wake up (one passed out on the grill and was burned to a crisp while another crashed his car while he was carrying helium). Just when things start to get back to normal, a dozen of the townswomen turn up pregnant. Verner offers to fully fund the pregnancies for the purposes of science, and 9 months later the population increases dramatically on the same day. But the new arrivals aren't normal little tykes. They're super smart, have chalk white hair, and can use telekinetic powers on the biggest idiots in town (which is everyone, by the way). Still, it takes forever for everyone to realize that there is something wrong with these kids. Very wrong.
This is a body snatcher chiller, although Carpenter doesn't seem to utilize it well. Maybe he was trapped by the source material. Whatever the reason, this did not have a well-thought out plot. For example. If the Zardip wannabes really have world domination on their minds, would it really make sense to stand out in a crowd? Like, dressing and walking in unison? Or telepathically making people off themselves? There are nearly a dozen of them, and not one of them realized that blending in would give them a greater chance of success? Think things out, guys! I mean, earthlings have our share of idiots (especially if they see a Seth Rogen movie as background research), but come on!
"Village of the Damned" has few elements in which it succeeds, and acting is not one of them. Christopher Reeve (in his final film appearance before his notorious accident) turns in a typically flat performance as the good Dr. Alan Chaffee. Only his towering frame makes him memorable. He's out acted by all his adult co-stars. Kirstie Alley is cast against type in a decidedly uncomic role. Her range is obviously stretched at times, but she's the most memorable member of the cast. Linda Kozlowski is overwrought but adds a bit of heart to this bland production. And Mark Hamill (yes, the dude forever known as Luke Skywalker) does what he can as the increasingly nutso priest. I'm hazarding a guess that about half his scenes were left on the cutting room floor, since that's the only possible reason his character could go from voice of reason to berserk lunatic with so little screen time. And importance, as it turns out. The key performances are Mara (Haun) and David (Dekker), the only kids with more than a line or two. I really hate trashing on kid actors, but they're just bad. They hardly seem to understand the sophisticated dialogue (as far as that goes in a movie this dumb) they're saying. In fact, they're the least creepy of the kids, which is kind of a big oversight.
John Carpenter is clearly not trying here (he revealed in 2011 that he was contractually obligated to do it). There's no atmosphere, the camerawork is bland, the acting is stiff, and it looks like it was made for next to nothing. This is a movie made without wit or joy. Or effort.
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