Village of the Damned (1960)

Film: Village of the Damned (1960)
Stars: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens
Director: Wolf Rilla
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

This month we are devoting all of our classic film reviews to Golden Age Horror films that I saw for the first time this year.  If you want to take a look at past titles (from this and other seasons of this series), look at the bottom of the page for links.

We're going to conclude our month devoted to Golden Age horror with a movie that, even if you haven't seen it, you know about as it as it landed a pretty high perch in pop culture at the peak of a TV classic's power.  Pretty much everything at this point has been skewered by The Simpsons, but one of my favorite Simpsons episodes was where the kids sneak out and watch The Bloodening, a scary movie about children who can read their parents' minds, and then to get back at their parents for a city-wide curfew, the kids put on a radio show telling their parents' secrets in hopes of it stopping.  That episode is actually based on a film from 1960 called Village of the Damned, and will be the final movie we'll highlight this month as we end (for now) our month of Old Hollywood horror.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie starts with the inhabitants of the British village of Midwich all suddenly fainting or falling asleep.  There is no explanation as to why (it isn't gas or some sort of attack), but when the people awake unharmed, two months later the women of the village find themselves pregnant, despite in some cases these women not having had sex.  One of the pregnant women is Anthea (Shelley), whose husband Gordon (Sanders) is overjoyed that he'll be able to start a family.  However, when their son David (Stephens) is born, he develops quickly, to the point where it's not clear if he's even human.  The children all have glowing eyes and bright blonde hair, and are clearly "not quite right."  Gordon begins teaching them, noticing their unusual IQ's, and they begin to be able to read the thoughts of those around them.  Eventually they start to use their powers as retribution to those in the city who think ill of them or mean to do them harm.  While trying to escape, David enlists the help of his father, who sets a trap for the children.  He blocks out his mind by not focusing on the bomb that is in the school, and before the children realize what happened, the bomb goes off, killing all of them, including Gordon.

The movie is genuinely scary, not just silly (though you'll be forgiven if you utter "we know all your secrets" every once-in-a-while during the children's controlled cadences).  The film smartly doesn't entirely explain the children's motives.  They don't necessarily want to kill-they just want to learn, but we don't know why they want to learn.  It is heavily implied that they are some sort of alien life force, sent to Earth for some unknown purpose, perhaps something to do with nuclear war (the film talks quite a bit about nuclear bombs, obviously this being a major year during the Cold War), but I liked the lack of clarity-it's creepier not knowing.

The acting in the film is genuinely good too, particularly Sanders & Stephens, who have a weird chemistry.  Sanders is so slimy in so many of his roles that he's the perfect choice for a reluctant hero.  A man who has spent much of his life not having a son, getting to have one with such ambition for power & knowledge is enviable for him-you kind of expect him to join this army, even if it could spell his doom, knowing that through his son he can have dreams other, weaker men can't...there's a lot under the surface of this movie.  1960 would not mark the end of this type of horror, focused more on psychology & scary faces than blood & gore, but there's a menace in Village of the Damned that simply wouldn't have been possible in the heyday of Boris & Bela...something we may take a look at next year.  Until then...Happy Halloween!

Past Horror Month Reviews (Listed Chronologically): The Golem, The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, Freaks, The Mummy, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, The Black Cat, The Bride of Frankenstein, Mad Love, Werewolf of London, Son of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man Returns, The Mummy's Hand, The Wolf Man, Cat People, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Mummy's Tomb, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, The House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Blob, The Masque of the Red Death